Come Sail Away
by mysticalflute
Summary: When Agent Reika Mutou is called back to Domino after her grandfather falls into a coma, she thinks she's just come home to keep watch over someone that won't wake. But little does she know just how much danger the Duel Monsters world had. (Kaiba x OC) (Technically a crossover with One Piece but that won't really kick in until later chapters).
1. Chapter 1

_BUZZ. BUZZ. BUZZ._

Reika frowned against her pillow as she heard the buzzing, before sitting straight up, the hospital sheet falling into her lap as she reached in the darkness for the source, a sinking feeling beginning to stir. She knew that the thing that was buzzing should _not_ have been. Finally, her fingers grasped the vibrating phone from the bottom of her bag. Violet eyes darted nervously around the room for any signs of consciousness from the others resting there. No one stirred, as she put the phone to her ear.

"Yes?" she breathed into the receiver as she slowly got off her bed and inched toward the door.

"Reika… I'm sorry to bother you but I'm afraid I have to tell you that you're being taken off assignment," Kenji's brisk voice said on the other end.

She frowned, slipping out of the room with her bag. "What? You can't pull me out of here now! We've only just saved the Alabasta Kingdom. And what about my parents?" she hissed, violet eyes keeping a wary look at her surroundings as she made her way into a hallway far enough away from the medical area.

Even in the darkness, she didn't know who could be listening in. This was an area that had only just been recaptured from a hostile enemy after all.

"I know, and I apologize for having to do it, but we found out that your grandfather has fallen into a coma," Kenji replied. She could practically hear the frown through the phone.

The words hit her like a train, and her stomach dropped. "What?" she managed to whisper. "What happened?"

"We're not sure. We're still trying to get information from your aunt and cousin but it looks like he just… fell into it," Kenji said, though Reika could hear something hidden in the words, and she exhaled slowly before speaking again.

"You don't think it was a normal reason, do you?"

"Like I said, we're still trying to get more information. I'll fill you in completely when you get back. But… my suspicions are that it wasn't a physical problem with him, no."

Rubbing at her forehead, Reika sighed and leaned against the wall, staring out the window at the horizon, the light only just beginning to try to break through the inky blackness. "When exactly is that going to be? I can't set up a portal now. It's too dark, and I can't just abandon them in the middle of the night. Plus the Marines are looking for us." She wouldn't be surprised if the Marines were already well on their way here, actually.

Kenji's slight laughter rumbled through the other end of the line. "Akio is on her way on one of our ships. She'll be posing as a friend of yours to take you home. Just stay put. She's got your coordinates and left hours ago."

She forced herself not to groan. She hoped this worked. "Okay," she said softly. "Thanks for letting me know."

"Of course. We'll see you in a few hours."

"Over and out," she sighed in reply, ending the call and sliding to her knees, her mind still reeling with a mix of exhaustion, anger and sadness.

She hated the thought of having to leave this land – after all, she still had no answers as to what happened to cause her parents to disappear – only a bit of speculation here and there from what she'd managed to swipe and scrape by from the various battles with the Marines they got into.

On the other hand… her grandfather had taken her in after her parents had gone missing in this dimension, and the fact that he was in a come – one that Kenji didn't think was naturally occurring – made her very, very nervous for Yugi, the cousin she lived with. He was two years younger than she was and not exactly someone built to fight.

And yet… she was absolutely friends with these pirates – something she hadn't anticipated happening. She hated that she had to leave them. But she knew her duty to the agency and to her family, and so with a heavy heart, she began sneaking her way through the castle and down to where their ship was.

She managed to make it onto the Merry with a heavy breath, fighting back the fatigue and lingering pain from the battle with Baroque Works and slipped into the room she shared with Nami. Kenji had told her when she'd started this assignment the year before to keep a bag packed at all times in case an emergency ever happened.

 _"It's exceedingly rare, but it has happened before and any good agent needs to be ready, Reika,"_ he'd told her in Domino City at T.A.I.D.R. headquarters. _"It's just to make sure we can get in and out quickly."_

She wondered how rare this actually was, as she paused on a photograph of she and her parents from when she was ten. One of the last photographs they'd taken as a family before their disappearance somewhere beyond the Grand Line. They'd been here on assignment and headquarters had lost contact with them.

When she'd been sixteen and they offered her a position in the agency, how could she turn it down? Then at seventeen, they'd offered her the chance to come to the Pirate Dimension, and the rest was history as soon as she'd gotten Monkey D. Luffy and his crew to accept her as a member in Lougetown.

And now here she was. Having to give all of that up because of an emergency at home.

But regardless, she couldn't just vanish without them knowing she was leaving – even if it wasn't exactly protocol for the agency.

Reika grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and sat down to scribble a quick note.

 _Dear Crew,_

 _I'm so sorry for having to leave you out of nowhere like this, but I'm afraid I've received word of an emergency in my home town and I had to leave at once. But on my honor, I'll come back and sail with you again when the emergency has passed – I'm sure I'll be able to find you. I just want you all to know that I've had the time of my life on the crew, and I've learned so much about myself because of you._

 _I'll see you all again,_

 _Reika_

She set the letter down on the desk and placed one of her arrows down with it (it wasn't like she was going to need them in Domino). Letting out a heavy sigh, she swung the bag over her shoulder and took a last look around the room. "Time to go then."

Wincing as she made her way back outside, she frowned when she noticed Aiko standing below her on the dock. Next to him, she could see a small boat.

"I was told you had a _ship_ , Aiko," she greeted, making her way back down the gangplank and over to her.

"This is faster," the man replied with a shrug and a grin.

"Mmhm," came the hum as she tossed her bags down into the boat. "Shall we?"

Aiko nodded. "After you."

She gave the palace a last glance as she stepped on board, going slightly pale when she noticed lights popping on. "Let's go. Now. They know I'm gone."

"Hold on tight," Aiko said, slipping behind the wheel and moving them away from the castle as fast as the boat could go. "Any trouble with the Marines?"

"Nothing that wasn't handled. Only two of the crew I was with have bounties at the moment," she groaned, leaning against the wall. "We got into a fight with some criminals yesterday though. Gained a pretty cool looking scar on my back for my troubles."

Aiko laughed, tossing her the portal maker. "Well, at least you have a souvenir from your mission."

She snorted, typing in the right combination for a portal in a boat this size, closing her eyes as the bright light enveloped them, bringing them back to Domino.

"Welcome home, Agent Mutou," Kenji said as he peered over at them as the light faded, the boat sitting in the small pool in the underground of the base. The clock over his shoulder read five o'clock in the afternoon. Well, at least she had an excuse to sleep when she got home.

Reika sighed, slowly managing to climb the staircase to the main area. "Do you have any more information on what happened with my grandfather?"

Instead of answering, Kenji frowned as he looked at her. "You're injured."

"Well you didn't exactly send me to the Kuriboh and Cotton Candy Dimension," she retorted. "I'm fine, I'm just a bit sore."

"I still want you checked out before you head home. I'll explain while the doctors are checking you out," Kenji said.

Rolling her eyes, she relented. It wasn't like she'd have any other choice in the matter if she wanted to get home. Following Kenji into their hospital ward, she lifted her shirt up when one of the doctors moved to look at her back.

"Talk," she told Kenji. She knew she shouldn't speak to a superior officer in such a way, but she was anxious and frustrated.

"We detected a high amount of dark energy hovering around the game shop leading up to your grandfather's coma. We can't say for sure but… we think that the Millennium Items may have had something to do with it," Kenji explained with a small frown. "But we have no way of knowing for sure without you."

She hissed in pain as something was applied to the scar on her back. "So that's why you brought me back from the Pirate Dimension. You want me to figure out if it was a shadow game… which only brings up more questions."

"Indeed. That's all I have for you so far, so if you're cleared…" he looked over at the doctor, who nodded that she was. "Then you can head home."

Home. What an odd concept to her now.

But hours later as Reika stood in her old bedroom, her bow and arrows safely tucked away in the very back of her closet, she could feel a strange sense of belonging. A sense of peace. Without really thinking, she slowly made her way over to her jewelry box. She'd realized on her way home that she was going to need something to cover the tattoo she'd gotten with Nami – she didn't feel like answering so many questions at once.

Pulling out a gold bracelet her grandfather had gotten her while he was in Egypt, she held it up to the tattoo, and smiled in relief upon the realization that this would cover the mark on her wrist.

"Thank God," she whispered, slipping on the golden bracelet, before feeling the ground begin to spin for a moment. Her hands scrambled to grip the table as she looked at herself in the mirror. Letting out a slight groan, she shook her head. Why had she suddenly seen herself dressed in older-looking clothing? She must have been losing her mind.

Then again, she had only gotten three hours of sleep right after being seriously injured, so that explained it.

"Hello? Mom?" her cousin Yugi suddenly called, the faint sound of a door slamming following him. Shaking her head again to clear the odd feeling, Reika made her way downstairs.

"Yugi," she said with a small smile as she spotted her cousin in the main area of the shop. "It's been a long time."

"Reika!" Yugi cried, running over and hugging her tight. She returned it, glad to feel familiar arms around her again. "When did you get home?"

"Ah… only about an hour ago," she told him, fighting back a yawn. "I was just going to grab something to eat. Are you guys hungry? I can make enough for five." Her violet eyes darted over to the three friends Yugi had brought with him.

The blonde one grinned as they moved into the kitchen. "Well, I'll never turn down a meal but uh – who are you?"

"You're Yugi's cousin. I remember you from your graduation last year," the brunette girl said.

She nodded. "My name is Reika. And you're Téa, aren't you?"

"Yeah. That's me. And this is Joey and Tristan," Téa said with a smile.

"Ah… it's nice to meet you both. Are you duelists like my cousin?"

"I am. And I'm gonna win Duelist Kingdom for my sister!" Joey said with a wide smile.

She frowned as she tossed some garlic in a pan. "Duelist Kingdom? What's that?"

"It's a tournament sponsored by Maximilian Pegasus," Yugi said, giving Joey a strange look that Reika had seen before. A look that said 'don't say too much'. "I got invited to it because I beat Kaiba in a duel a couple months ago."

The mention of Seto Kaiba was an interesting one, but Reika knew that wasn't the important thing at the moment. "Really? And so the founder of duel monsters invited you to compete in a tournament?" she asked. "Did grandpa know about it? You know… before the coma?"

There was a glance passed between her cousin and his friends as she tossed noodles into the pan to cook. "Yugi… tell me the truth. He's my grandpa too."

Yugi nodded slowly. "Okay. Pegasus sent me a videotape and when I put it on… he challenged me to something called a Shadow Game. And I lost. And he said he took Grandpa's soul because I lost the game. So I have to go to Duelist Kingdom and win so I can get his soul back."

She paled a little when she noticed the Millennium Puzzle hanging around his neck. "So they're back. Shadow Games are back."

"Back? You know about them?" Tristan asked.

"I'm studying archaeology at school… and it was something that was mentioned in a few of my lessons. I didn't think… I didn't think it was real. Not like the items…" she trailed off, gesturing to the bracelet on her wrist. "I was only just starting to dig into them when I was called home."

It wasn't a lie, technically. She did know about the Millennium Items because of the studies… she had just been studying them in her free time on a pirate ship in a different dimension.

"So Pegasus has the ability to call Shadow Games. When do you leave for Duelist Kingdom?"

"We leave tomorrow night…"

Hm. Tomorrow didn't give her much time to get more information out of him, but she smiled and nodded in understanding as she got plates out. "I hope you're all hungry. My friend Sanji taught me how to make this."

"It smells delicious!" Tristan said with a grin as he and Joey snatched plates out of her hands and helped themselves to the pasta dish she'd made.

She shook her head in amusement as she watched her cousin and his friends as they ate together. In the year she'd been gone it appeared that more had changed with her cousin than she ever expected. Now he was thrown into this shadow games madness with the creator of duel monsters.

 _Well,_ she thought, _at least he has his friends with him. I couldn't be the only one protecting him after all._

"I'll leave you guys to talk," she told them a couple hours later. "I had a long flight back here and it took a lot out of me. Goodnight."

"Night!" the group on the couch echoed as she went back up to her room.

 _"Goodnight, Reika,"_ an unfamiliar voice whispered as she drifted to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Letting out a groan, Reika threw her arm over her eyes and rolled over onto her stomach when she felt the sunlight streaming in her window. The action caused a twinge in her back, and she winced in pain against her pillow. Not waking up to the sound of someone shooting at the place she was sleeping was nice she had to admit, and the proper bed was an added bonus to Domino.

But the sweetest part of being back in Domino was not having to report back to anyone unless she got called in to work. Which, as it happens, she hadn't been yet, so there was no point in her being awake. Her body though, having adjusted to the tension of pirate life, usually awoke quickly and she was up for the rest of the day. Which meant, as much as she hated to think it, she was not going back to sleep right now.

She sighed and sat up, rubbing at her eyes and looked over at the clock. Nine in the morning. Just yesterday she'd have been up for hours already, possibly in some sort of fight, and certainly up with her friends already. It felt odd to not constantly be on guard for Marines.

Yawning, Reika stretched carefully before making her way downstairs, where she saw the familiar head of her aunt in the kitchen. "Aunt Kumi?"

"Reika! Oh sweetheart I'm so glad you're home," her aunt squealed, pulling her into a hug. "We missed you so much."

Reika's jaw clenched when her aunt's had accidentally smacked against her back just a little too hard. "I missed you too," she said, masking the pain. "Is there any update on grandpa's condition?"

"Not that I have heard… why don't you go down to the hospital and visit him today? I'll stay here and watch the shop."

"Alright. Yeah, I'd like to see him. Who knows? Maybe me being home is just what he needs to wake up," she said with a small smile. She knew, of course, that wasn't the case, but she didn't know how much her aunt knew of the true reason behind Solomon Mutou's coma.

"Could be," her aunt chuckled. "Why don't you take a shower? I'll get breakfast started for you."

Letting out a sigh as she tried to look at herself in the fairly-fogged mirror, Reika noted her skin looking more clear and clean than it had before she got home. She supposed being able to take her time in a shower would do that to a girl. She certainly wasn't complaining over how much better she looked, and after finding a spare toothbrush still wrapped in plastic, she glanced back up into the mirror, and gasped when she saw her face dressed in ancient clothing staring back at her.

"Hello Reika," it said with a smile, as if it was totally normal to appear in mirrors.

"What the – who the - ?" she started, before hearing a knock on the door.

"Reika? Are you okay?" her aunt called from the other side. "Breakfast is ready!"

"I – I'm okay Aunt Kumi. I just slipped on some water. I'll be down in a moment," she replied, staring at the reflection that was still smiling serenely at her. She faintly heard her aunt's footsteps retreating back into the kitchen.

"My name is Azila," the reflection finally said. "I'm the original owner of the bracelet."

Considering the things she'd seen in her life, this shouldn't startle her, but as she stared at the ancient face, she felt incredibly weirded out.

She began brushing her teeth in the hopes of a distraction. "Okay…"

"My powers aren't that strong yet, so I'm stuck speaking to you in a reflective surface. You must keep the Millennium Puzzle safe. No matter the cost, as I did in my life."

She rinsed her mouth out and looked at Azila. "Considering it's owned by my cousin, you have nothing to worry about when it comes to that."

"I knew I could trust you. This bracelet holds powers that will keep you safe in your battles," Azila said, fading from the mirror as Reika shook her head in disbelief when her own reflection finally returned.

What the _hell_ was that?

She tried not to dwell on the strange thing in the mirror as she finished her morning routine and ate breakfast, before making her way to the hospital with a sense of dread settling firmly in her stomach.

"Can I help you?" the woman at the desk asked with a kind smile.

"I'm looking for my grandfather, Solomon Mutou. I heard that he was here."

"Room 218. Just go up the stairs and it'll be on the left."

She nodded stiffly, ignoring the woman's slightly surprised look as she moved.

"Oh Grandpa," she whispered, her eyes growing wide as she took a seat at his bedside and took his limp hand in hers. "I don't know why this happened, but I promise, Yugi's going to find a way to get you back… and I'm going to be here with you." Taking his hand, she let out a sigh. "I promise not to leave again until you wake up. I'll stay in Domino as long as you want me to. Just… please wake up. Please."

There was no response, of course, and Reika sighed and rested her forehead against the back of his hand, as if willing him to wake up. She didn't like the feeling of being here. It felt sterile (well, it was, for obvious reasons), almost hopeless, even though there was the steady beeping of the heart monitor.

He looked so pale, so dead, and she felt the knife twist further in her chest.

"I already lost mom and dad. I can't lose you too," she said softly, closing her eyes as tears threatened to fall, and she let them, her shoulders shaking as the dam finally broke.

Her focus on finding out what had happened to her parents had been sharp, so crying over them hadn't been something she'd done in a long time, but now with her grandfather so close to being another loss for her, it was just too much to bear.

She wasn't sure how long she stayed resting against her grandfather's arm and listening to the steady beeping of his monitors but before long, her phone began to buzz.

"Hello?" she asked, flicking her gaze to the doorway just in case anyone was nearby and listening in.

 _"Reika, have you found out what happened to your grandfather?"_ Kenji's voice asked.

"Yes. Yugi explained it to me yesterday," she replied, rubbing at her wet cheeks. "I'll be there soon."

She snapped her phone closed and shook her head, going over to the sink and splashed cold water on her face to help get rid of the hints she was crying, and smoothed her tri-colored hair back into place. Unlike the males in her family, her hair was not spiked, but the colors remained the same.

"Why, Miss Mutou. At long last… the rumors of your return are true."

She tensed, whipping her head toward the doorway where she spotted a vaguely familiar face, but she was unable to place the name. "I had no idea my coming home from school would cause the rumor mill to begin turning. My apologies sir," she said, tilting her head, "but could you remind me of your name?"

"My name is Leichter. I'm the assistant to Seto Kaiba. Your mother was my secretary before her tragic disappearance," the man explained, stepping into the room. "On behalf of the Kaiba Corporation, allow me to extend our sincerest condolences for your grandfather's injury."

Ah, yes. Leichter. She recognized him now. Her mother had worked for Kaiba Corp as a cover for T.A.I.D.R. It was how she'd originally met Seto and Mokuba before they'd assumed control of the company.

Quite frankly, she hadn't been fond of the man even as a child.

"Mr. Leichter. My apologies for not recognizing you right away," she said, bowing a little to him. "It's been a long time. Though I admit I'm surprised that you're still keeping tabs on me considering it's been so long since you bothered to speak with me." Surprised and slightly suspicious of the it, frankly.

Leichter gave her a smile she didn't fully trust. "Well, your mother was one of my best secretaries, I do apologize for being absent in your life in recent years. And… since young Seto met with your grandfather a couple months ago, we were surprised to hear he ended up back in the hospital."

" _Back_ in the hospital? I'm afraid I don't know what you mean." Quite honestly, she wasn't sure she wanted to know what he meant.

Genuine surprise seemed to appear on his face. "Oh – my apologies Miss Mutou. I thought your family would have told you about what happened. Your grandfather and Mr. Kaiba had a duel and, well… the technology that Mr. Kaiba developed gave him quite a shock."

She shook her head, shock flooding her system. "No sir, I got in so late last night that I didn't have much time to speak with Aunt Kumi and Yugi before I went to bed. But I appreciate you telling me, and I assure you that whatever happened to my grandfather is no fault of Kaiba Corp."

"Well that is a relief as a high ranking of Kaiba Corp, but I am sorry that you're going through this, as an old friend of your mother," Leichter said. His face was unreadable, but Reika didn't believe that he was sorry, just glad that they weren't going to sue Kaiba Corp.

She gave him a weak smile. "I have faith that everything will be fine. My grandfather is a fighter. He'll come out of this."

He looked at her with a barely concealed smirk. "For your sake, Miss Mutou, I hope so."

She stiffened at the subtle threat, nodding only slightly as he made his way out of the room. When he was gone, she exhaled in relief. Why was today turning into one of the weirdest days of her life? First the woman in the mirror and now this. Leichter hadn't been her favorite person when her mother had worked there but now she knew there was something dark about him.

Anxiously fidgeting with her bracelet, she looked in the mirror, seeing a brief flash of Azila looking back at her. Maybe going back to headquarters would help her relax. If she could focus her mind on something other than… well, everything, it would help her.

Glancing over at the Kaiba Corp headquarters building, she smiled slightly before pulling her phone out of her pocket and dialing a familiar number.

 _"Yes?"_ came Kaiba's voice from the other end.

"You want to tell me what the hell you did to my grandfather?"

 _"Reika?"_ his tone had changed. Instead of the gruff, tired voice of an overworked CEO, came a more vulnerable tone that he only used around she and Mokuba. _"You haven't called in weeks."_

"I know," she said as she paused at a red light, "and I'm sorry. There was – there was a lot going on, and a friend of mine was in a lot of trouble so…"

She heard a faint chuckle on the other end of the line. _"You never could turn down a call for help."_

"He could have died, Seto. He almost did a couple of times. It was more than a call for help." It wasn't exactly a lie – there had been a near-death experience when it came to Luffy. Multiple, but Seto didn't need to know about that.

Seto was quiet for a moment. _"Oh. That's bad. Is he okay now?"_

"He was in the hospital when I got the call about grandpa, but the doctor said he'll be fine. But… enough about me. Why did Lector tell me that you dueled my grandfather and put him in the hospital?"

 _"I did. He didn't handle it well. That was my fault."_

Reika rolled her eyes. "Clearly. But why did you do that?"

 _"He had a Blue-Eyes that I wanted."_

She nearly dropped her key-card to get into T.A.I.D.R's building in shock of the ridiculousness of the answer. "You did this over a _trading card_? What the hell, Seto?"

 _"It's not my proudest moment."_

She groaned and rubbed her eyes. "Seto, you know how hard it's been lying to my family about us dating and now if the news comes out..."

 _"I know, I know. I'm sorry Reika. I wasn't thinking."_

"You weren't. So when can I see you? I know you're probably busy with work but – "

 _"I can't, Reika. I'm dealing with some things with Kaiba Corp. And I can't show my face in Domino until it's perfected to make up for my loss to your cousin."_

"You're being ridiculous."

He grunted on the other end of the line, and she heard something clatter to what she could only presume was the floor. _"This will be worth it. I promise."_

"I guess," she said with an exhale as she made her way into the briefing room. "Look, I gotta go. Call me when you're free to go out, okay?"

 _"I – okay. I'm sorry."_

"I know you are. I'll talk to you later."

Shaking her head, she snapped the phone closed and took a seat at the table, gazing around as other agents joined her in the room. When the talking had ceased, she spoke.

"Yugi was… fairly vague on the details on what happened but he confirmed Maximillion Pegasus having the ability to call shadow games. Yugi was blackmailed into attending the Duelist Kingdom tournament in order to get my grandfather's soul back," she explained. "So he's leaving tonight for the tournament."

"It's where the top duelists in the world are going to compete. Your cousin was invited because he beat Seto Kaiba. Still not sure how that one happened considering…" Kenji said with a frown. "But why would he need to call a shadow game for that?"

Reika looked over at him. "I'll go find out. I'll sneak on board the ship. I can have a bag packed and ready to go in half an hour."

"Absolutely not. You're too close to this, Reika. Especially since it appears that you too own a Millennium item…" his eyes darted to the bracelet on her wrist, and he looked at her with suspicion. "One wrong move, and your grandfather could be killed. And you know as well as I do that there's no coming back from that."

Reika sighed and nodded. "Fine. That's all I know about Pegasus and my grandfather so… am I dismissed?"

"You are dismissed. I'll call you again if you need you."

She pressed her lips together as she left the room, her mind still spinning between the conversations she'd had with Lector and Seto. Something was wrong, and she needed to get to the bottom of it before anyone else got hurt.

By this point, the sun was beginning to set on the city, with the sky a faint pinkish-orange, a haze of inky black creeping up in the distance. If she was lucky, she could grab something for dinner and then make it to the pier to see Yugi off before it was too late.

She shivered at a brisk breeze that suddenly swept up and pulled her jacket tighter around her before she heard someone calling out to her, a younger man stopping in front of her and looking worried. "Excuse me, could you help me find my way to the pier? My friend is leaving to go to Duelist Kingdom and I'm completely turned around."

"Oh – of course. It's just down that way. Make a left when you get to the intersection and – "

But before Reika could finish, there was a searing pain in her head, and the world went black.

The man that had asked for directions smirked as his associate lifted the girl into their car that was parked in the nearby alleyway.

"Master Pegasus, we have Miss Mutou. We'll be back on the Island shortly."


	3. Chapter 3

The first thing she registered was the soft bedding she was laying on. Wait. That wasn't right. That wasn't supposed to be there. She'd just been in Domino, giving someone directions to the pier.

Oh shit. It had been a trap, and she'd fallen right into it like she wasn't a trained agent to lookout for these sorts of things. It was such a simple trick and she'd fallen for it. Now the question became where was she? Because she certainly was not home.

The next thing she registered was the slight stinging in her back from her previous injury. She wasn't feeling like a very good spy at this point, being injured in a fight and being so foolish as to fall for the old 'asking for directions' trick.

She heard footsteps nearby and froze, making sure her breathing was deep and even as if she was still unconscious as she listened to the conversation.

"I thought she was supposed to have awoken by now!" a man snapped. She recognized the voice – not one that she'd ever heard in a face to face conversation, but one she would have at least heard on the radio or on the television. "What did you do to her?"

"I just knocked her out like you said, Master Pegasus!"

Pegasus? What the hell? Hadn't he done enough to her family?

"Go check on her and make sure she hasn't gone and _died_ ," Pegasus said from what Reika only assumed was a doorway. He sounded genuinely concerned that his kidnap victim had died, which would have made her laugh had she not been trying to stay completely still.

The door opened, and heavy footsteps drew near. When the shadow hovered over her, Reika grabbed the wrist that had brushed against her pulse, and pulled it back, moving off the bed as she bent his arm backward as the man cried out in shock and pain.

The noise that escaped Pegasus, however, was one of a delighted laugh as Reika's eyes locked on him. They both knew she couldn't do anything other than make threats, and Kenji's words about being careful echoed in her head.

"Where the hell am I?" she snapped.

"Now now Miss Mutou. There's no need to get so testy. I am Maximillion Pegasus, and this is Duelist Kingdom!" the man said, holding his arms out in a dramatic fashion. "I just thought that the cousin of the boy who defeated Seto Kaiba deserved a front row seat to all of the action."

"Kidnapping me is not the best way to say I deserve a front row seat," she said, still holding on to the guard that had hovered over her. "And if anyone deserved a front row seat to this, it's our grandfather. You know, the man that you sent to the Shadow Realm in order to force my cousin to come here to begin with. He's the one that taught Yugi how to play the game."

He let out a giggle sort of sound and smiled at her. "You are a sharp one aren't you? I expected as much from a Mutou. Now, if you could let go of my security guard I'd be happy to explain everything."

She growled low in her throat but released the pointy-haired man that she recognized with a sinking feeling in her stomach.

Kemo.

He grinned in recognition at her. "Hello, Miss Mutou. It's been a while. Where in the world have you been hiding?"

"School," she shot back.

"There's no need to be testy, Miss Mutou," Pegasus said smoothly as he led her through the wide expanse of the castle. "Though, I suppose it could be your pain or your hunger talking… you have been out cold for a full day. Come, join me for breakfast, would you?"

It wasn't like she had any other choice, so she nodded in agreement. "Very well, Pegasus."

"Kemo, I don't want any interruptions unless there is a total emergency. Miss Mutou and I have much to discuss about our precious items and very little time to do it since you hit her so hard," Pegasus replied, waving his hand casually as they arrived in a dining room with a large screen in the middle of it. She snuck a glance around the room, noting the doors and windows that could provide an escape if it came to that. "This is one of my favorite rooms. It allows me to see each of the duels that are happening on my island," Pegasus explained with a proud smile.

"How long have I been out? And Duel Monsters is a card game. How interesting can it be to watch a bunch of people play it?" she asked with a frown.

"Ah, you see, it's almost halfway through day one of my tournament. You've been out cold for... I believe it's been about sixteen hours. I really am very sorry about that. And as for Duel Monsters… it's much more than that. It seems things have changed quite a lot since you left for… what was it you said? School?" Pegasus told her smoothly, beginning to place food on his plate.

"Yes. School."

"There's no need to be hostile, Miss Mutou. I just thought it would be nice for you to be able to watch Yugi-boy dueling in the tournament," he told her as he took a sip out of the glass in front of him and looked at her with curiosity. "You also possess a Millennium Item."

Reika hesitantly put some of the delicious smelling food on her plate as she nodded slowly at Pegasus' words. She had a feeling her Millennium Item had something to do with her kidnapping. "Yes, it was a gift from my grandfather. It came at a very dark time in my life and I'm grateful to have it at another dark period."

"What does it do?" he asked as she took a small bite of food.

"I don't know. I only just started wearing it when I returned to Domino. I… was not going to take something this precious to school with me. Lest it gets stolen, you know?" she lied smoothly, meeting Pegasus' gaze steadily.

It was then that Pegasus' face flickered with internal darkness threatening to break free. "Well then let's just take a look and see, shall we?" he asked, his eye beginning to glow – the same symbol that marked her bracelet and Yugi's puzzle, and Reika realized with horror what that meant.

He could read her mind.

Out of instinct, she raised her arm up to block it, her bracelet lighting up in response as Pegasus let out a frustrated grunt.

" _The Millennium Bracelet is a defensive tool. It blocks the power of the other items from harming the wearer_ ," Azila's voice said to her. _"But it can also call a shadow game. Be careful of that power."_

He pulled back, the glow of the eye fading as he frowned. "I can't read your mind. Fine. I'll leave it be for now."

She exhaled shakily and turned back to her plate, though her stomach was in a knot and she didn't particularly want to eat. This must have been how Pegasus beat her cousin.

And probably how he planned to do it again.

 _Dammit_. She needed to find a way to stop him before it was too late.

"You and Kemo seemed to recognize each other. Why was that?" Pegasus asked after a few moments of awkward silence between them.

She pressed her lips together as she tried to think of a half-truth to tell him. "My mother worked for Kaiba Corp when I was a child and once Seto Kaiba took over we kept in contact. So I'd see Kemo once in a while when I was visiting them." But she had never once anticipated that Kemo had been a mole working for Pegasus.

"How nice of Kaiba to keep in contact with you. I had no idea he had any friends outside of young Mokuba," Pegasus remarked.

She only shrugged. "I wouldn't exactly say friends but… that's what happened." There. It wasn't exactly a lie, but it wasn't the full truth. After all, she and Seto Kaiba were _far_ more than friends, even if their romantic relationship had been long-distance for the most part, and she poked at her food again to try to get rid of the nervous feeling in her stomach.

When her stomach finally felt normal thanks to the food she'd consumed, violet eyes flickered up to the screens and widened when she saw two actual monsters standing face to face in one of the duels. Her cousin was dueling someone who was some sort of ghostly… clown looking thing. Reika wondered if that was even a person on the other side of the split screen.

"Ah, that's the look of surprise I was expecting," Pegasus chuckled, watching her closely. "You see, Seto Kaiba created these systems to create holographic images of duel monsters. It makes the game so much more exciting, don't you think? It's just a shame what happened to him."

She could only nod again, taking a small bite of fruit. "Yes. It's more exciting than it was when I left for school. I wasn't aware of the upgrades Kaiba made… but what do you mean? What happened?"

"Oh… yes that's right you were asleep when it happened. I'm sorry to tell you this, but Seto Kaiba is dead."

The words hit her like a punch in the gut as her eyes locked on Pegasus, who, if he was lying, wasn't giving anything away. "What? How?" That _couldn't_ have been true.

"There was an accident… he fell out of a window," Pegasus said gently. "He was most likely trying to escape from someone or something. There was evidence of a break-in."

Tears prickled at her eyes. She'd spoken to him yesterday before the meeting. Unless that clattering she'd heard on the other end of the line had been… had Pegasus…?

No. She closed her eyes and tried not to focus on that. She needed her wits about her if she was going to escape from this nightmare. And with this news… she would fight even harder to escape.

"Oh, your cousin looks frustrated, doesn't he?" Pegasus asked with a small smirk on his face.

She followed his gaze back to the screen and felt her eyes widen, tears drying quickly from the shock when she noticed her cousin's appearance wasn't how she'd left him the night before. He stood taller, somehow more confident, and his eyes were sharper instead of rounded.

 _"What the – ?!"_

 _"Oh… seeing him again brings back so many memories. I just hope he doesn't give in to his dark side as he was prone to in the past…"_ Azila's voice whispered.

 _"That's not Yugi?"_ she thought, unsure of Azila heard her or not.

Azila didn't respond.

"Pegasus… why are you allowing me to watch this? If I'm your prisoner, why am I not locked in a cell?" she asked. Technically, she hadn't even woken up in a cell. She'd been in a tower. There was something terribly, terribly wrong here and he wasn't saying anything about her being here. It was more uncomfortable than having to deal with the Marines. "You seem to have a vested interest in my Millennium Item… so why not just take it from me while I was unconscious?"

He smiled a little, dabbing elegantly at the corners of his mouth before a maid came in to clear the breakfast plates. "Because while I _did_ kidnap you, I am a man of honor and a gentleman. So what would you say to a little… bet? If your cousin loses to me at the end of the tournament, I get your bracelet. If he wins, you keep it and your grandfather goes free."

Discomfort twisted in her again, but she knew she needed to have faith in her cousin and his abilities as a duelist. Pegasus wouldn't win. He couldn't.

"Very well, Pegasus. You have a deal."

Pegasus smiled, as if this was simply a game and not people's lives he was playing with. Reika sat in silence, letting him bask in what he thought was a victory. She'd let him think he won, for now.

Because while he _had_ won the first battle, the war was far from over.

Another one of Pegasus' men walked into the room, whispering something in Pegasus' ear. She noticed a vein in Pegasus' neck throb in barely-concealed annoyance and frustration, but he kept his calm façade as he spoke out loud.

"Thank you Croquet. I know the situation will be handled swiftly. Now make sure we're not disturbed until I call you back in," he said smoothly, dabbing at his lips after he took a sip of wine. She glanced at Pegasus, the annoyance on his face turning into amusement as he returned her gaze. "It seems like things are about to get exciting, Miss Mutou."

"What do you mean exciting?"

He chuckled a little, pulling something out of his jacket pocket. "Do you know what this is?"

"It's a cell phone. Presumably yours."

A smirk graced his lips, letting all pretences of nice and welcoming host slip away. "Not exactly. Now tell me… do you recognize _this_?" his fingers pulled out a familiar card next from his coat and her stomach bottomed out, color draining from her face.

Her key card. Which meant that was _her_ cell phone. Which meant he knew, without even reading her mind, that she'd been in contact with Seto Kaiba.

"So now we get to the truth as to why you brought me here against my will," she said, folding her hands on the table in an attempt to look calm, though they both knew she was the furthest thing from it. "So start talking."

He sat back in his chair. "I want to know what this little keycard does. I think I have an idea, but it's very vague. Just your picture, your name and a funny looking bar code. I've never seen anything like it."

"That's none of your business."

He laughed. "This is adorable! You think you actually have the upper hand here! This is just like any good television show. No, Miss Mutou, if you don't tell me what this is, then your little liaison with Seto Kaiba will become public knowledge."

"Excuse me?"

"You see… when my men went to go ah – _check_ on Seto Kaiba, they found, besides his deck, this little photograph of the two of you. It can't be more than a year or so old," the white-haired man explained, pulling the photo out of his pocket and showing it to her.

Her lips pressed into a thin line. She remembered taking that photo of course. It was taken a couple of days before she left for work. It was a rare instance of her boyfriend smiling, because the photograph was supposed to be private. Just between the two of them.

Well, and Mokuba, who had taken the photograph.

"Give that to me now. That's not yours," she hissed with the little amount of self-control she had left. "What do you _want_ , Pegasus? Why is finding out what a damn key card is so important to you?"

He placed the photograph on the table and looked at her. "My Millennium Eye does more than allow me to see into someone's mind. I have seen distant realms and dimensions."

She unconsciously sat straighter at the word, heart thudding uncomfortably against her chest. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I saw an ancient world of Pharaohs and magic… a realm filled with duel monsters… and perhaps more curiously, a land with neither of those things. Instead it was a land of… pirates. It was strange but I know it's real. Isn't it?"

She pressed her lips together, jaw locked as she stared at the opposite wall.

"It would be in your best interest to answer my question," Pegasus' voice became low, dangerous.

She repressed the growl that threatened to rip from her throat. "It's real, Pegasus. But you're not going to be able to get into it unless you know how. It's filled with magic that's much more dangerous than anything any Millennium Item could produce," she said with a frown. "It's not for the faint of heart. Which is why it's not common knowledge."

"So trying to introduce Duel Monsters to such a world would be…"

"Impossible."

"For now. But lest you forget that I am Maximillion Pegasus. I hold more power than you could ever imagine."

"You hold power here… but in that world you would be eaten alive," she told him simply. "I'm warning you, Pegasus. Not as an enemy but as someone with firsthand knowledge… their world is already in turmoil. The last thing they need is an egomaniac from this one disrupting their lives."

Pegasus' lips twitched in a faint amused smile. "It's amusing you think that."

"When you get your back cut into like you were a fish you learn a few things about danger. I wouldn't want you to suffer the same fate. And when my cousin wins against you in the finals, I want my things back that you stole from me."

She knew it wasn't going to end well, so she wasn't surprised to hear what happened next. "Croquet! Please escort Miss Mutou back to her room."

Reika stood when Croquet entered the room and whispered something else in Pegasus' ear before leading her back up to her tower. The irony of being a woman locked in a castle's tower wasn't lost on her.

But as she laid in her bed that night, with sleep refusing to come to her, she could have sworn she heard helicopter blades whirring in the distance.


	4. Chapter 4

_"Okay so apparently I'm going to have plenty of time to myself today. You'd better explain to me what the hell is going on and who that guy who looks like my cousin was, Ghost of Egypt's Past,"_ Reika bitterly thought as Kemo entered her tower with a tray of food the next afternoon. It was an obvious sign that she was not going to be getting the "five start treatment" she'd gotten the day before.

 _"Very well,"_ Azila replied softly. Reika couldn't see her, and God it felt strange that she was talking to a ghost that lived inside her bracelet, but seeing as she had a friend that was a human who became rubber and a talking reindeer, she supposed she didn't have any room to talk _. "You could call me a guardian angel of the Pharaoh."_

 _"Pharaoh? What pharaoh?"_ she asked, taking a bite of the rice she'd been given. It felt odd, yet relaxing, to be able to have a conversation while eating and not looking like a slob by talking with food in her mouth.

Azila was silent for a few moments, before her voice, quiet and unsure, returned. _"I don't know his name."_

 _"What do you mean you don't know his name?"_

 _"It got erased from history. He sealed himself in the puzzle. When your cousin finished it, I was sent down to make sure he gets back to the afterlife. It bound me to the bracelet."_

 _"How do we help him?"_ She wondered if Yugi even knew about all of this.

 _"I'm afraid I don't know that. It's something he has to figure out for himself."_

 _"You Egyptians make the afterlife very complicated, you know that?"_

 _"It worked for us,"_ Azila's affronted voice said as Reika leaned against the window and looked out into the fresh air, feeling the light breeze blow against her pale skin. It wouldn't take much to climb down the wall and escape but… with Pegasus' threat hanging over her head, it wouldn't be worth it. _"You're scared."_

 _"Terrified. I haven't felt this helpless since my parents disappeared, and I've seen my friends be nearly murdered more times than I'd like to in the past year,"_ she replied, closing her eyes and pressing her hands together and resting her chin against the in a sort of prayer. _"I just hope Yugi knows I'm rooting for him."_

The air rippled, and Reika liked to think it was Azila sitting down next to her, like a friend would. _"I am certain your cousin knows. Perhaps, if your bond is strong enough, he senses the danger you're in too."_

She sighed. _"I'm not sure if we have a strong enough bond, Azila. It's been such a long time since we've been together that I don't know how the bond between us is."_

 _"I may not have known you long, Reika, but I believe in the power of a bond. Even though you were gone, you still had a special connection, right?"_

 _"I hope so…"_ Reika thought as the door opened and Croquet stepped into the room. "What's the deal with being locked up today, Croquet? Have I not been a model guest?"

"They were Master Pegasus' orders. And now I have new ones to escort you to the dining room," Croquet said sharply.

Joy.

She followed Croquet back to the dining room and took a seat. Her lips were pressed together, eyes slightly narrowed as she took in the creator of duel monsters sitting straight and tall in an obvious attempt to look intimidating to the eighteen-year-old.

"I hope you slept well last night, Reika-girl," the man said smoothly.

"I slept as well as anyone who's been held captive," came her sharp reply. She didn't have a mirror in her tower, but she knew she looked like shit. Hell, she could practically feel the bags that were under her eyes. Her hair was as tamed as it was going to get without a proper brush, having gotten strewn about in her fitful bid for sleep. "What do you want now?"

He clicked his tongue, shaking his head. "You and your temper. It's no wonder you and Kaiba-boy are dating. You're exactly alike! I merely thought you'd like to watch a duel between two of the men you love most."

Violet eyes flickered up to the screen and widened in horror and dread when she saw her cousin and boyfriend standing at opposite sides of the roof.

"Why is Seto here?" she snapped. Yugi, she understood, but she hadn't figured out Pegasus' game with Seto yet. With everything that had gone on the day before, she suspected Pegasus wanted something to do with Kaiba Corporation, but dueling her cousin on top of a castle had nothing to do with that. There was more going on.

"A business deal. He gets to play the hero instead of the villain, isn't that wonderful?"

"Let me guess, if he's the hero, that makes you the villain?" she asked dryly.

He laughed instead. "Yes, I suppose that would make me the villain in this little game."

Wait a second. Seto wouldn't be so easily manipulated like this. He would never go willingly into a blackmailer's territory. Unless…

"You kidnapped Mokuba, didn't you? Why are you treating us like we're just a bunch of pawns?" she asked, slamming a hand on her table.

"Oh now Reika, you _are_ a bunch of pawns!" he laughed, turning his attention to the screen with a smile.

She noted that he didn't even answer the question about Mokuba, which said enough.

Her hands curled into fists as she watched Seto and Yugi dueling, wondering if either of them knew she was there. Who did she cheer for in this? If Yugi won, Seto would lose whatever business deal it was that was going down with Pegasus. If Seto won… she didn't know what would happen. So she sat in silence, not able to tear her eyes from it. Both of them had everything to lose.

A sense of dread filled her when she saw Seto begin to move backwards toward the edge of the castle. _"What are you doing, Seto?"_

"Go ahead and attack, Yugi. But be careful. If you do… the force might knock me off this castle and to my death."

" _Seto_!" she thought as if he could hear her, but with his move, she knew it was over. There was no way her cousin would allow it to happen.

Although… her cousin wasn't in charge of the duel, was he? Or was he? This Ancient Egypt thing was giving her a headache.

Watching as her cousin was finally – _finally_ – back to his normal appearance on the screen and his life points drop to nothing, Reika gripped the golden bracelet on her wrist as if it were a life line, violet eyes closing tight in thought.

She supposed she should be angry at Seto for going so far with his threat, but she couldn't, because like Yugi, he was a desperate boy fighting for someone he loved.

"Well," Pegasus said, setting the book he'd been looking at down with a small smile. "I think it's about time you're reunited with your boyfriend, isn't it?"

"What?"

"Did you think I wouldn't give you the chance to say hello?" Pegasus asked with a contained chuckle. "He could use some extra encouragement before he duels me, after all."

There was something about his face as he spoke those words that made her stomach twist in an uncomfortable knot, but of course she wouldn't turn down the opportunity to see Seto, so she wordlessly stood and followed him out of the room.

"Kaiba-boy! What a match! I knew that what happened between you and Yugi-boy had just been a fluke!" Pegasus said with a dramatic gesture and grin.

"Let's finish this already Pegasus," Seto said, not noticing Reika standing nearby.

"Oh come now, Mr. Kaiba, I need some time before the match starts! There are things that I need to finish setting up in the arena, and then we do have to wait for Yugi-boy and the others. Our match will be an exhibition match before the finals!"

Unsurprisingly, Seto didn't seem as enthused at the prospect of waiting, his blue eyes narrowing at the creator of duel monsters.

"Now, I won't waste any more of your time. Toodles!" Pegasus said, stepping out of Reika's way and turning down another hallway.

"Reika? What the hell are you doing here?"

She didn't waste a second, going over to him and wrapping her arms tight around him as his stunned arms dropped his briefcase and moved more slowly around her waist. "I'm his hostage. I've been here since the night I called you. If I try to escape or do anything against him… Seto, he knows about us and he'll use it if I don't follow along with his game… and I'm afraid he'll do something to my grandfather too," her voice was hushed against his ear as their embrace continued.

"He has Mokuba," came his hushed reply. "That's why I'm here. And if I win I'll demand your release too."

"God. I knew he'd done something to him. Don't worry about me. Just make sure you get Mokuba out of here," she whispered, pulling back slightly and smiling.

Looking at him now, she could see the battle-weary, frightened eighteen year old instead of the frigid CEO as his azure eyes bore into her violet ones. "I – I don't want to lose you like I've lost Mokuba."

"You won't. And Mokuba is not going to be lost forever. You'll get him back. I know it," she told him. "And then once this nightmare is over we'll be able to have some time to ourselves." After all, she didn't know how long she had left here before she went back to work.

He looked down at her and nodded. "It's going to be a nightmare trying to get the company's reputation back on track," he sighed. "But I promise to make time for you."

She smiled softly. That wasn't a promise he made often. "I know," she breathed.

Seto stared down at her and pulled her close again, pressing his lips against hers in a searing, desperate kiss. The kiss of two people who were afraid for their lives, both knowing that there was a chance that they might not see each other again.

It was Reika who pulled away first. "I believe in you," she whispered against his lips.

"How sweet. Young love is such a beautiful thing, isn't it?" came Pegasus' voice from behind them. "Shall we then, Kaiba-boy? Croquet, lead Miss Mutou to the arena so she can watch with her cousin."

When she and Croquet were alone, she froze when she felt a gun press into her back. She wished she could say it was the first time she'd felt this sensation, but it wasn't, but it was not something she was going to be used to.

"You are to tell your cousin that you are a guest of Master Pegasus'. Do you understand?" the man hissed.

"Certainly. I wouldn't want to ruin Pegasus' _pristine_ reputation," she said, rolling her eyes slightly.

The gun clicked menacingly against her back. "I wouldn't play games if I were you."

She forced herself not to scoff. The irony that a _card game tournament_ was causing her to be blackmailed and kidnapped was not lost on her.

The stopped in front of a door, and Croquet put the gun back in its holster. "Your friends are in there."

"Reika!" Yugi said when she pushed the door open and stepped inside.

"Yugi," she said with a small smile as she hugged her cousin. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before you left. Pegasus invited me to watch the tournament with him." She forced herself to keep a calm façade, but her stomach was twisting with discomfort at the thought of Seto dueling Pegasus.

"The exhibition match between Maximillion Pegasus and Seto Kaiba will now commence," Croquet's gravelly voice cut through.

"Very well Kaiba-boy, we'll do things your way… but I think I want someone else to hold this disk for me, if that's okay…" Pegasus said, waving his hand as Mokuba Kaiba was brought in, held with chains. "It'll be just like you dueling your little brother!"

"That's sick…" she whispered, watching as Yugi nodded grimly, his friends looking just as disturbed as she felt.

She saw the look on Seto's face, and it was obvious that he was close to jumping over the chasm and strangling Pegasus.

"You're a coward, Pegasus. But fine. We'll do it your way," Seto growled, watching as a duel arena dropped from the ceiling and each competitor stepped into position.

But just as she feared, Pegasus knew exactly what to do in order to rattle Seto and tear down any strategy he had planned.

"That's right, Kaiba-boy. You've lost. And now your mind belongs to me!" Pegasus laughed as Seto's life points dropped to zero, Millennium Eye glowing.

Seto chanced a quick glance up at her, the light in his blue eyes fading as his soul was captured by the eye.

For a long moment, everything went still. Reika couldn't hear anything except the roaring of her pulse pounding in her ears, beginning to race as her nails dug into the railing, teeth clenching together, anger threatening to boil over. All it would take was one good jump and she could reach Pegasus and then she could –

She felt herself come back to her unfortunate reality when Yugi rested his hand against hers, and she jumped as she looked over at him, thoughts broken, ears once again accepting the sounds surrounding them, her heart rate slowly beginning to come back down.

"I don't like what Kaiba did to me earlier…" Yugi said softly, "but I know he was your friend, and I'm sorry."

"Thank you Yugi…" she whispered, watching as that gold enveloped him again, and the other Yugi – the Pharaoh – stood before her.

"I'll get them back. All of them. Pegasus will pay for what he's done."

She nodded slowly. "I know. And I forgive you for nearly attacking him when he was on the edge of the castle."

He seemed surprised by her declaration as they were led into the now-familiar dining hall for dinner, and afterwards, instead of being trapped in her tower, she was led to a normal room, there was no guard posted outside, and she wasn't locked in.

 _"Azila… do you happen to know if there's a rule about wearing more than one item at a time?"_ she thought, looking into the small mirror that was hanging in the room, Azila visible over her shoulder.

 _"I don't think so. Why?"_

She looked down at her bracelet and smirked. _"Because if Yugi wears the bracelet… it'll block Pegasus' eye and he can have a normal duel with him!"_

 _"Reika, that's brilliant, but what about that tattoo you're hiding under it?"_

 _"Honestly that's the farthest thing from my worries. As long as Pegasus can't read his mind that's all I care about."_

 _"I understand."_

A knock on the door broke their conversation, and she smiled when she pulled it open to reveal her cousin standing on the other side.

"I don't think I've ever been more happy to see you. I have an idea," she said as she pulled him into the room and shut the door behind him.

"Wait – what? Slow down," Yugi said, eyes wide as he took a seat on one of the spare chairs.

"Pegasus can't read my mind when I have my bracelet on," she told him. "So if you win tomorrow and you're the one that's facing him then he won't be able to read yours if you borrow it!"

Yugi shook his head. "I couldn't do that to you. What if I lose and he – "

She looked down at her hands and sighed softly. "He's already threatened that Yugi. You lose and he gets both of our items," she told him. "I wasn't going to tell you… but I know you're going to win tomorrow. You'll get Grandpa back."

"You think so?"

"I know it. You're a Mutou. We were born to fight. The way we fight just happen to be different," she said with a smile. "But if you don't want the bracelet, I trust you to fight your way."

"Thanks Reika… I guess I should get some sleep, huh?"

She nodded. "Yeah, you've got a big day tomorrow. Let me know if you and the man in the puzzle change your minds about the bracelet."

"How did you know about – "

"Yugi, I saw the duels you played here, and he talked to me after Seto lost his duel. It wasn't that hard to figure out."

"What did he say to you?" Yugi asked, looking a little concerned.

She frowned slightly. "He promised you'd get everyone back that Pegasus cursed. Why the look of fear, Yugi?"

"He almost killed Kaiba with no hesitation. What if he's not a good person? It scared me, Reika."

She ignored Azila's sharp inhale as she took Yugi's hands in her own. "Look… I don't know what's going on when it comes to all of these Millennium Items, Yugi, but what I do know is that you and I got them for a reason. You are going to be an influence on him. After all, you're sharing a body. Talk to him. Make sure he understands you and you need to understand him."

"But no matter how loudly I yell, he never seems to hear me. I only was able to stop the duel by force," Yugi said, biting his lip worriedly.

Reika frowned. "Have you tried a mirror? That's how I can see the woman that's in my bracelet."

 _"I'm not in the bracelet. I'm tethered to it when I come to this realm!"_ Azila protested.

Yugi blinked in surprise at the revelation. "I – no, I've never tried that but I think I will."

"Just remember you've got people behind you all the way in this. You've got me and all of your friends here… and your puzzle spirit has Azila. Neither of you are alone," she told him as he stood and went over to the door.

Yugi smiled up at her and hugged her. "Thank you. Reika. See you in the morning."

"Night Yugi."

As Reika fell asleep that night, she felt hope for the first time since she woke up on this damned island. Yugi would win the tournament, and they'd all be home by the next night.


	5. Chapter 5

The executives sat around the large conference table in the room, leaning back with identical, satisfied looks on their faces. Master Pegasus' plan was going just as expected, and it would all be over soon, with Yugi Mutou's defeat. None of them had any personal vendettas against the sixteen-year-old of course, but he _had_ unseated Seto Kaiba as a champion, and that simply couldn't stand for that.

Even if they did have plans to destroy their young boss and restore Kaiba Corporation to its former military glory with the help of Pegasus. No longer would they be laughingstocks, ordered around by an eighteen-year-old and a thirteen-year-old. Finally, the Big Five would once again be in control of things they were _good at_ instead of stupid card games. Pegasus would handle that side of the takeover.

The camera showing the duel panned back slightly, allowing a view of the entire arena, and Crump's deep voice rumbled through the room.

"Leichter, isn't that Miaka's daughter standing there?" he asked as the camera focused in on the tri-colored haired woman who was observing the duel.

The American's eyes lifted to the screen. "Hm? Oh, so it is. Master Pegasus did say something about her being needed for part of his plan." He supposed at one time, he'd looked at her like she was his own daughter, especially after Miaka and Genji disappeared, but the novelty had worn off, especially once Mr. Kaiba had reportedly started dating her… but there was no confirmation of that just yet – not that it mattered considering he was going to be out of the way.

"She looks tired and anxious, doesn't she? I suppose Master Pegasus' tournament has been draining on her," Johnson's monotone voice added with a small smirk.

"Life has not dealt her a fair hand. And neither have we," Leichter said with a chuckle as he took a sip of his drink, watching the duel with a smile.

Yes, Leichter thought, soon everything would be as it should be.

"Wait – she's gone!" Crump exclaimed after the duel was covered by that strange purple fog that they couldn't see through and the camera panned back to the spectators. "Reika's gone!"

Leichter's eyes widened. "She's probably looking for those boys. Give me the phone."

Johnson slid the phone over to him, and he frowned as he dialed Kemo's number. "Kemo, find the girl. She's escaped our eyes." When there was no response from their guard, he frowned. "Kemo?"

 _"I'm sorry. Kemo's a little tied up at the moment,"_ came the voice of Reika Mutou on the other end of the line.

* * *

With Yugi dueling a man who could read his mind, Reika was a bundle of nervous energy, so she'd decided to take off into the castle to find where Pegasus had hidden the Kaiba brothers once Pegasus had summoned a shadow game, which, according to Azila, not even she could break even though she too had a Millennium item. Tristan and Bakura had disappeared some time ago trying to find him.

"Reika? What are you doing here?" a voice suddenly asked.

She turned faster than she meant to, putting up a defensive stance before relaxing when she noticed it was simply Mai Valentine.

"Mai. I was just looking for Tristan and Bakura. Have you seen them?"

The blonde woman blinked in surprise before her lips curled into a concerned frown. "No, I haven't seen them, but I'll help you look."

"Thank you," she replied with a smile as the two continued to sneak through the castle.

"You're not supposed to be out here, are you?" Mai suddenly asked as Reika kept herself pressed against the wall. "In fact, your behavior suggests you're not exactly… willing to be here. You've seemed tense since I met you yesterday."

She hummed slightly and ignored the questions, ducking down a hallway when she heard a rumbling sound, putting her arm out so Mai was concealed too.

Kemo appeared out of the wall, looking around with the smug grin on his face that Reika just wanted to punch.

"That's got to be where he's keeping Kaiba and Mokuba," Mai whispered.

She nodded slowly in agreement, violet eyes searching for something she could use to distract Kemo before Mai suddenly bolted out from their hiding spot with a wide smile. Reika gaped as she ran up to Kemo.

"Miss Valentine? You should be on your way back to Domino…" she heard the man say as she remained hidden in the shadows.

"Well, I was too engrossed in Yugi's duel that I missed it. I was hoping you could help a girl out…"

"Sure Miss Valentine, I'll be more than happy to call you another ship," Kemo replied just as a cell phone began to ring.

The voices began fading as Mai led him down the hallway – oh… now she understood.

With a smirk, Reika moved carefully, grabbing a small statue off a nearby table and snuck up behind Kemo, whacking him over the head with it hard enough to knock the man out and grab the gun that was on his hip.

 _"Kemo?"_ came a voice from the dropped cell phone.

Reika felt her heart stop at the voice. Though it was over the phone, she could tell the southern American accent anywhere.

"I'm sorry," she said as she picked it up, "Kemo's a little tied up at the moment."

 _"Miss Mutou? Miss Mutou, what are you doing?"_

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with, Leichter. Now if you'll excuse me I have some things I need to take care of."

 _"Reika!"_

She ended the call and threw the phone down the hallway in disgust as she stalked back toward the false wall Kemo had appeared from, shaken at the revelation that Leichter was involved in all of this.

"Friend of yours?" Mai asked, her voice less curious and more cautious now as she followed her down the dark pathway.

"My mother's old boss. He kept an eye on me when I was a kid after my parents went missing, but he stopped communication with me when I left for school. I should have known something was suspicious with him when he showed up at my grandfather's hospital room," she said with a sigh as she ran a hand through her long hair.

"Reika, where did your mother work?"

"Kaiba Corp," she said with an exhale. "As a secretary."

Mai frowned as they made their way through the damp, cold dungeon. "So… your mother worked for Kaiba Corp, you have one of those objects that Pegasus wants, and that man at Kaiba Corp is currently working for Pegasus. If this wasn't real life, I'd say this would make a good plot for a movie."

"I really wish this was a movie," she sighed as they approached a fork in the path. "Which way should we go?"

"My gut says left," Mai said from behind her.

"Left it is."

A chill ran through her as they moved carefully through the dungeon, Reika keeping careful tabs on where they were going and how to get back to the main entryway. She didn't want to be suspicious, but it was odd that Mai had decided to help her with this. Not that she was going to turn down help – Seto was tall, and she swore that most of his weight was in his trench coats and not actual body weight, and she didn't think she could move him all the way back to the dueling arena by herself, especially with the guards lurking around the area.

She clutched the gun a bit harder at the sound of a thump from down the hall, their footsteps quickening until they came to a stop in front of an unconscious Bakura and Mokuba. Tristan was hovering over an unconscious guard with a suit of armor's helmet in his hands.

"Hey Mai, Reika. What are you guys doing here?"

"Probably the same thing you are. Give me the key, I'll get Seto out of there."

Tristan gave her a curious look, but handed her the key with a shrug, going to pick up Mokuba and Bakura as Reika knelt in front of Seto and sighed.

"It'll be over soon. I promise," she whispered to him as she uncuffed him from the wall and carefully hoisted him over her shoulder. "Mai, a little help, please?"

Together, she and Mai dragged Seto from the cell before their trio rushed as fast as they could back to the dueling hall, where the purple dome still blocked their view of Yugi and the duel.

"Tristan, what happened to Bakura?" she finally asked as they situated their fallen companions against the wall.

"It's his Millennium Ring. It – I don't know, it's got another person in it, like Yugi's puzzle. And that person wanted Mokuba's body. So I knocked him out and threw the ring off a cliff. It won't hurt anyone again," Tristan explained.

 _"Hm…"_ Azila hummed. _"The Millennium Ring is not like the other items. I'm not so sure it's gone for good…"_

 _"Comforting,"_ she replied.

 _"It wasn't supposed to be."_

 _"I kn – ow!"_ Reika's thought was cut off by a sharp pain in her chest, and looking around, it was obvious Tristan, Téa and Joey had felt it too. "Yugi…" she whispered. "You'll be alright. We're here."

She wasn't sure how much longer they stood there, but eventually, the dome faded, the life points counter on Yugi's side of the arena suggesting that he'd won the game. Pegasus' head was in his hands, cards scattered around him.

"You did it Yugi! You really did it! I knew you could!" she said with a laugh as she pulled her cousin in for a hug. "Pegasus is going to free everyone!"

"Thanks, Reika… it was hard but I'm glad I had everyone by my side."

She stepped back to allow his friends to congratulate him, looking over as she saw Croquet beginning to approach.

"Master Pegasus has requested a private meeting with you, Miss Mutou. Immediately."

"Excuse me? After everything he's put people I care about through? Forget it. He's letting everyone go and we're getting the hell off this island," Reika said, crossing her arms over her chest and narrowing her eyes.

"I'm afraid he's not going to take no for an answer, Miss Mutou."

"Fine. But the gun comes with me," she said as she followed Croquet, hearing vocal protests from her cousin and his friends. She was tired of these games with Pegasus, and for once, she wanted to have the upper hand. Though Yugi had won the duel, there was no telling whether or not Pegasus actually _would_ hold up his end of the bargain.

She was led to a tower and paused, gripping the gun as she looked at the man who was leading her upstairs. "This had better not be a joke, Croquet." Frankly, she never wanted to see a tower again after everything the weekend had taken from her.

"It's not a joke. Master Pegasus is waiting for you upstairs."

Exhaling through her nose, Reika followed the staircase, where she indeed saw the disgraced man standing in front of a table, his head drooped.

"What do you want, Pegasus?" she asked, not daring to move away from the staircase.

Pegasus took what sounded like a shaky breath and turned to face her. "I wanted to give you back your things, Miss Mutou," he told her, handing her the purse she'd had the night she'd been taken hostage. "And I wanted to apologize for what I did. I let the darkness of my Millennium Eye cloud my judgment and the lines between right and wrong got blurred. I know I can't make up for it, but I did need to get it off my chest."

Reika studied him for a moment, trying to see how genuine the apology and the pretty words were. She sighed before pressing her lips together, formulating words in her mind before she spoke.

"Forgiveness isn't my strong suit, so you won't be forgiven so easily. However… I do have compassion and an understanding. You were desperate to do more than control a company and steal two items, weren't you?" she questioned as she looked around the tower once again, seeing a painting of a blond woman hanging on one of the walls. "That woman. Who is she?"

"She was my wife. I lost her when we were still newlyweds."

"A desperate attempt to see her again. That's why you were so interested in T.A.I.D.R. You were hoping that we could find her for you. I'm sorry Pegasus, but there's no way to bring back the dead. That's one dimension we don't have access to," she told him. "If we did, I'd ask if my parents were there."

"You lost them?"

"In a way. They've been missing since I was ten. It would be nice to know if they were dead, then I could move on with my life," she told him bitterly, looking through the purse absently and finding everything was in place. "If you are still interested in the agency, Pegasus, someone will be in contact with you once I get back to Domino."

Pegasus had money, and money was never something an undercover, off-the-books organization was going to turn down.

She turned to leave, stopping when Pegasus called her again.

"Take these," the white-haired man said, handing her three cards. "As proof that I always keep my word. Everyone has been set free. Your cousin and his friend shall get their winnings in a few moments."

She looked down at the three empty cards and let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "Thank you, Pegasus." She turned to go again, hearing Pegasus speak once more as she descended down the stone steps.

"You know, you and Kaiba-boy _do_ make a lovely couple. I wish you the same happiness Cynthia and I had."

She went scarlet, running the rest of the way until she reached the duel arena again.

"Reika! You're okay!" Joey said. "But your face is all red. What happened?"

Putting a hand on her cheek, Reika felt the warmth radiating off of it. "I'm fine, don't worry. Pegasus was just returning some lost objects to me," she told them with a relieved smile as she saw Seto and Mokuba beginning to stir. She couldn't contain herself as she moved over to them as another guard went over to Yugi and Joey.

"Hey," she breathed to them with a soft smile. "You guys okay?"

Seto nodded, rubbing his head as he gave her a small smile.

"Reika! When did you get home?" Mokuba asked, hugging her tight. "We haven't seen you in forever!"

A laugh escaped her as she returned the hug. "I got home a few days ago when I heard my grandpa was in a coma… and I think I'll be home for a little while yet," she explained, beginning to feel tiredness trying to draw her in. "I missed you guys."

She looked up at her secret boyfriend, giving him a look that signified there was much to come in terms of their reunion. He only smirked in reply, and for a moment, the rest of the world slipped away, a mutual understanding between them.

The journey back to Domino was a long one, but it was worth it as she and Yugi burst into the game shop and found their grandfather awake and alert as if nothing had happened.

"Grandpa!" she cheered, practically diving into the familiar security of his arms.

"Why Reika! Did they drag you all the way home just because of me?" the old man chuckled, his arms embracing her. "They didn't have to do that!"

"No one dragged me, I got the first flight I could!" she protested. "I wasn't going to stay in America knowing what happened to you. And then when Pegasus invited me to watch the tournament how could I turn it down?"

The old man smiled and kissed her forehead like did when she was a little girl. "Well, I'm glad to see you safe and home. Now how about we have some dinner, hm? Being trapped in a coma works up an appetite!"

She didn't want to think about what he went through while he was there, but she forced her tone to remain lighthearted. "I'll cook, grandpa, just to prove to you I won't burn down the kitchen anymore," she said with a grin.

"Very well, but we'll help you, just in case," the older man replied, clapping Yugi on the shoulder and grinning as everyone made their way into the small kitchen. "Tell me all about Duelist Kingdom, my boy!"

"I wish you could have been there, Gramps. It was amazing! I beat Weevil Underwood in my first duel, and Joey beat Rex Raptor!" Yugi said, "but the most important part is that Joey got enough money for Serenity's operation."

Joey nodded eagerly. "Yeah! She was so excited when I called her from the helicopter! I heard mom crying in the background, but when I called dad, he didn't seem to care much."

"Yeah well… who cares what your dad thinks? Serenity is going to be able to see again, and it's all because of you, Joey," Téa said with a wide smile.

"She's right Joey. Family isn't always blood. Sometimes it's those we choose to allow into our lives. And if my family doesn't mind me speaking for them, you have a family here that cares about you, and we'll all be here to support Serenity and her operation."

"Y-yeah? Really?" Joey asked, eyes wide. "Thanks, guys. It means a lot to me."

That night, Kame Game was filled with laughter and light, and as Reika leaned against the counter to watch the scene before her, she couldn't help but be reminded of the pirate crew she'd left behind.

* * *

Kame Game was dark. The doors were locked up tight and its inhabitants slept in their beds.

Reika Mutou never looked to be completely settled, although Azila supposed that was because of her time as a pirate. It seemed odd that a pirate would be the one to inherit the bracelet, but the objects were fickle, and it had clearly sensed something within the young woman that bonded them together.

Azila wasn't sure what had brought her to this realm, knowing that Reika would be asleep and especially knowing what she had gone through over the last couple of days, but there was a great sense of unease she had, and she'd wanted to be here, just in case it was more than an odd feeling.

Taking what at one point would have been a seat at Reika's desk, Azila's violet eyes scanned the room before stopping as the Millennium Symbol formed on the door, a man in a white cloak stepping into the room, looking startled when he took in Azila's presence.

"A ghost from the ancient past. That was not what I was expecting when I entered this room," he said smoothly, looking from Azila to the sleeping Reika. "Why are you here?"

"I could ask you the same question. At least this bedroom belongs to the woman that wields an object that formally belonged to me, while you just broke in," Azila said, keeping her low even as Reika shifted slightly in her sleep. "Who are you?"

"I am Shadi. I was a tombkeeper who looked after the Millennium Items… and one was nearly stolen."

"Which one?" came Reika's tired voice from the bed. Azila turned to find her human companion sitting up on one arm, looking at the ghostly figure with a frown.

Shadi stepped over to the bed. "The Millennium Eye that belongs to Maximillion Pegasus. I have heard that you were on the island yesterday."

Reika nodded slowly. "But I didn't try to steal anything."

"Then you have nothing to fear," Shadi said, pulling out the Millennium Key and pressing it against her forehead. He was back what seemed like only a second later, and shook his head. "My apologies for believing that you had tried to steal it. I suppose I'll have to keep looking. Good evening, your majesty."

He vanished before either of them could speak, but once he was gone, Azila felt the burn of Reika's stare boring into her. A strange feeling since she'd been dead for thousands of years.

"Your _majesty_?" Reika whispered.

Azila opened her mouth to explain before Reika held up her hand.

"Actually you know what? I'm too tired to comprehend all of this right now." Reika's face dropped back into her pillow.

"Very well," Azila whispered as Reika's breathing deepened, indicating sleep.

"The boy the prophecy spoke of is just next door, Great Royal Consort Azila. You know what is to come…" Shadi's voice whispered in the darkness.

A cold streak of fear went down her spine, and with a nod, Azila vanished back to the spirit realm.


	6. Chapter 6

_You've been summoned to headquarters. Be here by 3:00._

Reika exhaled slowly through her nose as her gaze flickered up to the time in the corner of her cell phone's screen. It was two-thirty, and she sat outside the meeting room she'd been led to. The wording of the text from Kenji was certainly… an interesting one. _Summoned to_ headquarters instead of just _needed_ at headquarters probably wasn't a good thing.

"Reika!" Akio called, running up to her and pulling her into a hug. "I was so worried about you! Well, I still am considering you're sitting outside of the meeting room but…"

"That damn newspaper let it all slip," she joked. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I didn't disobey orders. But – oh, can you watch my phone for me? I don't want it with me. Too distracting." She'd be fidgeting too much with it in her pocket.

Akio nodded. "Of course I will."

It wasn't long before Reika was sitting in front of the higher-ups in the organization. Looking around the room, she then started to feel nerves beginning to form. So this was why the wording of the text had been so ominous. She knew she hadn't done anything wrong, but still, the stares of the more-experienced adults that had taken her under their wing looking at her like she had committed the worst crime in the history of the organization, well, it was hard not to feel like a child who had done something wrong.

"Reika Mutou, do you know why you've been summoned here today?" Yume, the director of the organization in Domino, asked.

"Because you all believe that I snuck onboard the ship to Duelist Kingdom despite being ordered not to," she said calmly, despite the fluttering of her stomach. "However, I did not. Pegasus kidnapped me after I left the meeting."

The six pairs of eyes narrowed in confusion. Kenji finally broke the silence that had settled over the room. "That… explains the strange email I'd gotten this morning. I didn't think it had anything to do with this but… Reika, why did you tell him – "

"He already knew. That eye of his? It can see into other realms. He saw the Pirate Dimension, and then he found my key card in my purse. But why he even knew where to look I still don't know… but it was blackmail. He threatened to make everything public," she closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair, trying to think. "But I didn't tell Pegasus everything, and he couldn't see into my mind. My Millennium bracelet stopped him."

There was some murmured discussion among the older members at the table with her, before Yume spoke again.

"Miss Mutou, I know you aren't an employee of Kaiba Corporation or anything, but would you happen to know who – if anyone – was left behind after Gozaburo was removed from power?"

Well, _that_ was a question Reika couldn't say she expected to answer today, and she cleared her throat before answering. "The Big Five. They're major shareholders in the company. Roland and Fuguta are two of the Kaiba brothers' closest bodyguards. And then there's Kemo. He was the one that kidnapped me. He was another bodyguard at Kaiba Corp but he was working with Pegasus and the Big Five."

Yume exchanged a look with Kenji, and as Reika opened her mouth to question it, Akio began pounding on the door, her voice muffled through the wood. "Yume, you have an urgent call from The Boss."

The Boss. Their mysterious figurehead of the organization. There had been many throughout the years, but this one seemed extra cautious to never show his face or name. Actually, Reika wasn't sure if they were a man or a woman.

"Very well. Miss Mutou, you're free to go. Make sure you get your reports done," Yume said, giving her a small smile before exiting the room, followed by some of the other big shots.

Reika let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and looked at Aiko with a smile. "Told you I'd be okay."

"You sure? Because your phone rang five times while you were in your little meeting," Akio said, sliding her phone over to her as her heart sank.

One missed call and a voicemail from Mokuba. One call from Grandpa. One from Yugi and two from a number she didn't recognize, plus a voicemail from the unfamiliar number. Frowning, she put the phone to her ear.

 _"Reika, it's Mokuba. The Big Five kidnapped Seto! He's locked in a video game. I hope you're home because I don't know where else to go!"_ Mokuba's voice whimpered from the other end of the line. Her blood went cold as she moved to the next voicemail.

 _"Hi Reika, this is Téa. Yugi gave me your number, I hope that's okay. Um. We're at Kaiba's secret testing facility and Joey, Yugi, and Mokuba went into the virtual world to rescue him. I'll keep calling you to update you on what's going on."_

She tensed, waving Kenji over frantically. "The Big Five are trying to usurp Seto Kaiba again. They have him trapped in some virtual reality or something. Mokuba and Téa weren't very clear. I know there are at least four people there," she told the man. "I know this sort of thing is handled by the police usually but – "

"I need you and Akio to go to where Mokuba is. I'm sending the rest of your squad to take care of the Big Five," Kenji said immediately, cutting Reika's sentence off. "And keep us informed on what happens."

She didn't hesitate to move with Akio, rushing out of the building as fast as the elevator could take them.

"My car is this way," Akio said as they ran through the parking lot in the pouring rain. "What do you suppose they're having us doing this for? It's not like we can arrest them or anything."

"I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with The Boss calling earlier… but I know I was going to take off anyway regardless of permission…" Reika replied with a shrug as her phone lit up again. "Téa! I was just about to call you. What the hell is going on? Where are you?"

Téa's voice was whispered as she spoke. _"W-we're at this little research lab or something about a mile away from the docks. You can't miss it. A-and there are some guys trying to find us to Tristan and I are setting up a blockade on the door."_

The color drained from her face as she muttered the directions to Akio as the car sped down the road. "Téa, listen to me. Stay where you are and don't let them find you. I'm on my way."

 _"Okay – "_

The call was cut off suddenly as the car screeched to a halt in front of the building. Reika was halfway out the door before it came to a complete stop, bursting through the already opened gate as she heard Akio behind her.

"Ready for round three you pointy-haired bastard?" she called when she saw Kemo standing in the doorway of where she could only presume Téa and Tristan were. Kemo turned, startled, as Reika aimed a punch at his face, which connected with his cheek.

Kemo staggered back, Akio rushing into the room to help Tristan. "You again?" the disgraced bodyguard snarled, eyes narrowing behind his sunglasses.

"You keep trying to hurt people I care about so yeah, me again," she retorted, taking her fighting stance and narrowing her eyes. "But this time you're not escaping and neither are the Big Five."

They circled each other in the hallway, neither paying any attention as one of the other guards was thrust out of the room by Tristan, collapsing against the far wall with a groan.

She grunted in pain as Kemo managed to punch her shoulder as she tried to dodge his attack.

"Why are you so against the Big Five? Mr. Lechtier took you in like you were his own after your parents went missing. Is that any way to treat a man who acted like your father?" Kemo asked.

"That man has never been, nor will he _ever_ be, a father figure to me. Not after what he's done!" she shouted, her foot colliding with Kemo's stomach.

"Kemo, we gotta go! The brats are awake!" one of the other men suddenly called, breaking the tension in the hallway.

Reika exhaled as the goons ran like hell back down the hallway and looked at her cousin and his friends with a smile. "Everyone okay?" she asked, trying to hold back the grimace of pain as her shoulder began to throb, frowning when she saw Mai walking out of the connecting room. "Mai?"

"Hey Reika. Turns out the Big Five weren't exactly happy that I helped you out back on Duelist Kingdom," the blonde explained, running a hand through her long hair and shaking it out.

"Oh my God. Mai, I'm so sorry. Iwould neverd have asked you to help if it meant you were going to end up kidnapped!" she groaned.

Mai waved her hand. "Don't worry about it Reika, really. I was happy to help you. I'm just glad Yugi, Joe, and Mokuba showed up to help me."

Reika wanted to protest this, but she had a feeling if she did, the argument would never end, so she simply nodded. "I'm just glad you're all okay."

Mokuba looked up at Reika with his big eyes. "Seto must be awake now too. We should go see, Reika!" he said, already making his way out the door as Reika trailed along behind him, pulling out her phone when she felt it go off in her pocket.

 _The Big Five escaped. We've called another meeting for tomorrow morning. You need to be here by nine o'clock,_ Kenji's text read. Her blood ran cold, but she forced what she hoped was a real-looking smile as she looked at Mokuba.

"I think that sounds like a great plan, Mokuba, but – "

"But I'm more than happy to give you guys a ride back to Kaiba Corp. We don't want you running around alone in case those goons come back, do we?" Akio interrupted as she caught up to the two of them as they reached the exit.

"See you later, Yugi!" she called to her cousin and his friends, watching as the group started making their way back to the game shop.

The drive to Kaiba Corp headquarters was a talkative one – Mokuba had always been the more outgoing of the two brothers, and Reika smiled as he filled her in on all of the things he and Seto had done while she'd been gone, even though Seto had told her about them when they'd happened.

Akio grinned as they stopped. "Okay Mokuba, we're here."

"Thanks, Akio," Reika said as Mokuba darted out of the car with a wave. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Have a good night, Reika," Akio grinned, winking as Reika grabbed her back out of the back seat with a blush.

She put her bag on her shoulder as she moved into the building, waving at one of the receptionists that was getting ready to go home.

"Mr. Kaiba is in his office, Reika," the older woman said with a knowing glint in her eye that had Reika ducking her head and practically sprinting to the elevator.

She let out a puff of air as she was whisked up the elevator to the top floor of the building, knocking quickly on the door before entering.

"Reika."

He looked tired as he sat at his desk, and she didn't blame him. He probably hadn't slept well the night before, having been dealing with the Big Five, and she gave him a small smile as she walked over to him and hugged him. He pulled her onto his lap and exhaled into her hair.

"Thank you," he murmured. "For helping protect Mokuba."

"I didn't do much. Tristan and Téa were there longer than I was," she told him with a small smile. "And Yugi, Joey and – "

He let out a groan, rolling his eyes. "I know, I know."

"Where is Mokuba anyway?" she asked, only just realizing that the younger boy was gone. He hadn't gotten that much of a head start on her, had he?

Seto chuckled against her hair, sitting up slightly. "He went to go greet Roland. He just got back from a vacation with his wife."

Well, that explained how Seto had been captured by both Pegasus and the Big Five with little effort. If Roland had been there…

She forced those thoughts out of her head and smiled slightly in amusement as she leaned against his chest, fighting back a wince as pain shot through her shoulder. "How are you doing?"

"I'm so tired…" he admitted, and from her angle on his lap, she could see the circles that were beginning to form under his eyes.

"Then go home and get some rest."

"You sound like Mokuba. I can't. I have to figure out what I'm going to do about the vacancies the Big Five left, and then I have to finish the algorithms for the new duel disk system I designed," Seto said. Reika could see his jaw and throat muscles trying to fight back a yawn.

"Seto. .." she sighed, standing up and in front of his computer. "You need a break, or you're not going to make the right choice about who to pick for your shareholders and you're not going to figure out the right algorithms for your duel disk if you pass out at work. Believe me. I've seen it happen where people don't get enough sleep at night and they end up passing out at their desks and suddenly they fail an exam or a project…"

He exhaled. "I see your point. "

"I just think we could all use a night to decompress from everything, that's all."

Seto suddenly got a glint in his eye that Reika found… dangerously alluring. Her pulse quickened as he smirked at her and stood up, wrapping an arm around her and leaning over her, her back pressed against the desk.

"Decompress, hm? I'm sure you and I could think of a few ways to decompress…" he murmured against her ear before straightening up at the sound of the door handle turning. She kept her back to the door as Mokuba burst into the room, trying in desperation to control her flaming red cheeks and racing pulse.

The rest of the day was a blur, and before long she was resting against Seto's chest, shivering as his fingers danced along the skin of her back, feeling his heartbeat slow as they both drifted off to sleep.

 _She was on board the Going Merry, standing on the deck as the ship moved swiftly through the water, her crewmates milling about nearby in the bright, warm sunshine._

 _A perfect day at sea._

 _"How much longer until we reach the next island, Nami?" she asked, looking at the navigator with a smile._

 _"According to my calculations, it should only be another day. I expect if the weather holds, we should get there around this time tomorrow," the navigator said, spreading a map on the table in front of her. "We should start making lists on what supplies we're going to need."_

 _"I know I'm going to need some more arrows. That last fight nearly drained my supplies," she said with a small frown as her stomach gurgled impatiently, knowing there was food cooking away in the kitchen, sure to be a perfect meal from Sanji again._

 _Usopp looked over at her. "Your arm feeling okay?"_

 _"Yeah, it's feeling back to normal now. Chopper did amazing work as usual," she said with a smile, hand brushing against the bandages gently. "Thanks, Usopp."_

 _"Okay!" Sanji called from the galley. "Lunch is ready!"_

 _Captain Luffy nearly bowled the poor doctor over in his eagerness to get into the dining room; Reika shaking her head in amusement as she followed, but as she crossed the threshold, the galley fell away, twisting and warping until she was left standing in a familiar hallway._

 _"Hello…?" she called. "Anyone home?"_

 _"Reika!"_

 _Her blood ran cold at the voice, and she refused to turn around. This couldn't be happening._

 _Footsteps ran up to her, a hand grabbing hers and tugging her toward one of the rooms. Her feet automatically knew where despite her mind screaming at her to stop, to_ run _._

 _"Come on, Reika! Father got me some new music books and I want you to accompany me!" the boy said as they went into the great room, where the instruments were stored._

 _She finally found her ability to speak, forcing herself to look at the boy. "I haven't played in years. I don't know if I can – "_

 _"Sure you can! You did have the best teachers, didn't you? Just like me! It was father's pleasure to allow you to learn alongside his son," the boy said, picking up his violin as he shoved her toward the piano bench._

 _She took a seat, fingers hovering over the black and ivory keys as she looked at the music. "What's this piece called? There's no title on the page." Violet eyes lifted to the boy with the violin._

 _The boy tuned the violin, not meeting her gaze. "It's called Betrayal. Just like what you did to me."_

 _Oh God._

 _He began to play, and after a brief moment, she followed, her fingers awkward and clunky against the keys. The melody was making her skin crawl, the air becoming colder._

 _"Why do you think I betrayed you?" she finally asked when the keys became too cold to touch._

 _"You replaced me! As soon as I died you were suddenly around those two_ orphans _when you should have been sad about me!" the boy cried, the piano and violin fading away as they stood in the frigid, empty room._

 _"Noah – "_

 _"You thought you could push me out of your mind after my death, but I'm not dead, Reika. I'll never be dead. Not as long as you're alive. You can't push me away anymore, Reika."_

 _"I never pushed you away!" she protested. "I never stopped thinking about you! Your father told me not to – " she reached for the door handle, only for it to vanish._

 _"You can't escape me."_

 _"Noah, let me go."_

 _"Never," Noah replied, beginning a laugh too cold and too cruel for a twelve-year-old to have._

She shot up out of her sleep, hearing someone call her name and she clutched her ears, knees pulling toward her chest. "Go away, go away, go away!" she whispered as Noah's voice rang in her ears.

"Come back. Come back Reika…" a new voice cut through the laughter. This one warm and concerned.

"Seto…" she croaked, trembling as she looked up at her boyfriend's wide blue eyes, her violet ones filled with terror and dread. "Oh God…"

He sat next to her on the bed, pulling her close against his chest, rubbing circles into her back. "It's okay. It was just a dream. He can't hurt you."

Slowly, the tremors stopped, her flight-or-fight instinct settling as she leaned against him. "It feels like he can…" she whispered.

"It was an illusion, nothing more." He meant well, and she knew it, but that wasn't what she wanted to hear after a nightmare like that.

"He was so much more than that."

Seto's thumb stroked against her cheek. "Then tell me who he was…"

Her mind reeled. Gozaburo had warned her not to say anything. To never mention Noah Kaiba to Seto and Mokuba, under threat of being cut off from their friendship. But then again… Gozaburo was dead, right? Seto had more than taken care to make sure of that. So the threat that had hung over her was gone, wasn't it?

"His name was Noah. He was a friend of mine when I was a kid… but then he was hit by a car when we were twelve. He died."

Seto said nothing, but his brow was furrowed.

She sighed. "I tried not to think about it because it was too hard, and then I met you and Mokuba, and before long, six years passed… I guess everything with the Big Five rattled all of those memories." She glanced over at the clock, which read 6:00, and took in Seto's already dressed for work form. "I'm going to shower."

She stood, beginning to make her way toward his master bathroom when Seto stopped her again.

"What happened to your back?"

Reika paused at the door to the bathroom. "Remember when I told you about my friend that almost died?"

He blinked. "Yeah?"

"I was protecting him."

With that, she closed the bathroom door and stepped into the shower, letting the warm water relax her muscles and the bruised shoulder. The nightmare had rattled things she'd worked so hard to build up over the years, but in the end, she knew Seto was right. Noah was long dead, which meant he couldn't hurt her.

…Right?


	7. Chapter 7

Sitting at the table long table with the rest of her squad and Kenji, Reika could barely focus on the words that Kenji was speaking. Nothing had been found in the Big Five's meeting room aside from a video feed into the virtual game Seto and the others had been trapped in, and they'd torn through anything else they (legally) could. Even so…

"How did they escape? Half of them are ancient!" Reika snapped as she looked at Kenji. Snapping in the middle of a meeting wasn't something Reika liked to do, but between everything that had happened the minute she'd gotten back to Domino and the nightmare the previous night, she was on edge.

"I don't know," Kenji admitted. "We did, however, get Kemo and the other guards working with them into custody… I know that isn't much consolation."

Reika gripped the table tight, trying not to let the wave of fear consume her. "If the Big Five are still out there… "

"Trust me, I know. Until we find them we've increased surveillance around Kaiba Corp and around your grandfather's shop. Fuguta knows what needs to be done without arousing Mr. Kaiba's suspicions."

Fuguta was a strong, capable bodyguard and fighter, but Reika had a hard time believing that Seto's suspicions wouldn't be raised after some amount of time. Seto was antsy about security on a good day, but after the events of the previous weekend – and God only knew how long this had been going on before the start of the Duelist Kingdom tournament – she knew Seto was probably in his office right now cleaning house of everyone that could have been involved in what happened.

"Reika, why don't you present your findings from your work in the Pirate Dimension?" Kenji suggested, leaning back in his chair casually.

She exhaled and stood, going to the front of the room.

"The Straw Hat pirates are a… unique bunch. They are captained by Monkey D. Luffy, a Devil Fruit user. On his crew are the navigator Nami, swordsman Roronoa Zoro, chef Sanji, sniper Usopp and doctor Chopper. When I left them, they had just taken down a criminal organization known as Baroque Works, which was terrorizing the kingdom of Alabasta," she explained. "Its leader was Crocodile, a Shichibukai."

Kenji's eyes widened. "You're telling me that some rookie pirate defeated a Shichibukai? How?"

There was a deep chuckle from the doorway as Reika opened her mouth to answer. An unnaturally tall man wearing a green cloak looked in on the meeting with amusement, jet-black hair brushing against the large tattoo on his face. "Come now. You should know that Shichibukai are no better than any other pirate."

Kenji was rendered speechless, and Reika had no idea who he was, but she saw Yume's brown hair bouncing behind the man, trying to get into the room. Finally, Yume managed to squeeze herself through the small opening the man left, clearing her throat as she addressed the room.

"My apologies for interrupting your meeting… but I would like to introduce you all to Dragon. He's The Boss."

The air was sucked from the room before there was a loud clatter of agents dropping to their knees before the man. That explained the mysterious phone call Yume had received the day before.

"No need to bow to me," Dragon said as he stepped into the room, looking at Reika. "But tell me. What makes Luffy so powerful that he could defeat Crocodile?"

"Unwavering loyalty to his friends," she replied immediately as she stood to her full height. "We became friends with the princess of Alabasta, and when we found out that Baroque Works had essentially taken over the kingdom… Luffy's loyalty pushed him to fight until they were defeated. He'd do it for anyone he considers family."

"Including you?"

"If he were able to reach me here, I think he would, yes."

For a moment, Dragon's face was unreadable, and then a chuckle escaped from his throat. "Well then, it looks like Monkey D. Luffy is one that we should watch, hm?"

"Yes sir."

Watch for what, she didn't know, but whatever the question was, the answer was yes.

"What's your name?" Dragon asked, black eyes looking at her, face betraying no emotion.

"Mutou, sir. Reika Mutou."

Dragon's lips twitched just slightly. "Good work on your report, Miss Mutou. I suspect we'll be in touch."

Before Reika could respond, Dragon swept from the room, Yume following close behind. When they'd disappeared down the hall, there was a collective exhale of breath no one had realized were holding. Their mysterious figurehead was no longer mysterious. He was a human – an unnaturally tall human who looked like he could kill someone with one finger, but a human nonetheless.

Kenji cleared his throat awkwardly. "Yes… I think that's sufficient for your report. We've finished up your documents so you'll be posing as a student while you're back in town, Reika."

"Yeah… I've been meaning to ask about that. How long am I here?" she questioned with a small frown as she put her bag on her shoulder.

"We figured four months would be the best time frame in both worlds. Your family will think you're spending the rest of the semester here, which will lead into summertime for American universities and your crew will think your grandfather made a miraculous recovery. In the meantime, you'll do surveillance for us here."

"Did you need anything else from me today?"

The man shook his head as they stepped out of the meeting room. "No, that's all. We'll have your things moved out of storage tomorrow, and they should be at the shop by Saturday."

A majority of her things had been put into storage under pretense of being sent to her dormitory when she'd left to keep up the appearance of a college student. It would be nice to have them back.

Running a hand through her hair, she smiled at Kenji as she was handed the envelope of falsified documents from another of their co-workers as she approached the exit, her phone beginning to buzz in her hand. "I'll see you guys later. Hello?" she questioned, putting the phone to her ear as she stepped into the sunshine.

 _"Miss Mutou. It's good to hear your voice."_

"Seto? What's with the formality?" Frowning, Reika paused outside the building, leaning against the brick exterior casually.

 _"I was speaking with my publicity chairwoman, and she believes that one way to improve the standing of Kaiba Corp's stocks and image would be to… perhaps, have a significant other. One that is public."_

"You want to go public with our relationship? I'm surprised," she said, frowning a little.

 _"Only if you want to. I won't agree to it unless you're okay with it. You know that with it being exposed will mean that the press will be following after you."_ The formalities had dropped, so she suspected that he was now alone in his office.

She looked around to make sure there was no one to overhear the conversation. "Well, with Yugi winning at Duelist Kingdom I suspect that's going to happen anyway. So what's the grand plan to show off our relationship? Certainly your publicity team has come up with something."

 _"Naturally. Apparently there's some sort of museum exhibit on ancient Egypt coming to town and I got an exclusive invitation to its gala opening."_

"I didn't realize you were a fan of ancient Egypt, Seto."

 _"I'm not. The past belongs in the past and not a priority in anyone's life But I know you are."_

"How sweet that you'd go to something like that for me. So when is this gala?" she asked, stepping into the shop as the small bell chimed over her head.

 _"Tomorrow night."_

"You don't leave a girl much time to get a dress, Mr. Kaiba."

 _"Sorry. I'll be by to pick you up at seven."_

"Okay – I'll call you later," she said quickly when she noticed her grandfather stepping into the room with a bag in his hand. "Hey gramps. What's with the bag?"

He chuckled softly, guiding her into the kitchen with a wave. "Do you remember my old friend Arthur?"

"Sure, he was around all the time when I was a kid. You went on all of those epic adventures together, right?"

"That's right. Well, he's visiting Tokyo for his research and it just so happens to line up with a Duel Monsters convention, so I thought I would go visit him and go to the convention. It's supposed to be a big deal now that the Duelist Kingdom tournament is over and Yugi is the winner."

Her lips quirked into a smile as she got a glass of water and took a sip. "Let me guess, Aunt Kumi is going with you to supervise you so you don't get into too much trouble?"

"I'm going to get some more insight into the game that my son seems to love so much. But yes, I imagine that there's going to be plenty of supervising of your grandfather," her aunt replied, stepping into the room with her suitcase. "What about you, Reika? Any plans while we're gone?"

"Seto invited me to attend the opening of a museum exhibit on ancient Egypt with him," she said with a small shrug.

Her grandfather's eyes lit up at the news, but Kumi's lips pressed together in a thin line. "Oh. You and that boy are still friends after what happened to your grandfather?"

There was a harsh remark on her tongue, but her grandfather managed to step in before she spoke up.

"Kumi, I forgave him for what happened. He's been Reika's friend for years. We all are susceptible to the darkness inside of us, and at the end of the day, what's important to me is my friendship with Arthur. Who, by the way, I'm going to miss if we don't leave now," the older man said soothingly, obviously sensing the tension in the room that was bubbling just under the surface.

Her aunt looked like she wanted to say something more, but settled for a sigh and a nod, walking out of the room before her grandfather pulled her in for a hug.

"We'll talk when Kumi and I get back. Enjoy the exhibit, Reika."

"Thanks Gramps…" she whispered, pulling away and watching Solomon follow Kumi out the shop, the door slamming to signal their departure, and she let out a heavy sigh leaning her head against wall and listened to the steady tick of the clock.

"Tomorrow night, everything changes…" Azila said.

All she could do was let out a bitter chuckle as she looked into the reflection in the glass pot on the stove next to her. "You have no idea how right you are."

The next day came, and before she knew it, she was zipping up her new deep red gown, staring at herself in the mirror as she tucked a stray blonde curl behind her ear, listening to the muffled sounds of what she was quickly finding out was the chaos that came with her cousin's friends, who were staying over that night.

Azila hovered over her shoulder, smiling regally at her. "You look like you could take my place as queen."

Reika gave the reflection a wry smile. "Thank you. I'm just glad I found something with a high enough back to cover the scar…" Her back twinged at the thought.

"Why not wear your scar with pride? Does this world think it shameful to have a battle scar?" Azila asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"That's the problem, Azila," she sighed, putting on a light pink lipstick. " _Battle scars_ aren't as common anymore. Especially ones that were caused by a man with a hook for a hand. Because in this world… that's just a fairy tale."

The sound of the door opening caught her attention then, and she grabbed her purse and went downstairs quickly to intervene if need be.

"Kaiba? What are you doing here?" came Yugi's confused tone.

"Yeah, rich boy. Don't you know the shop's closed?"

Seto's eyes narrowed dangerously as he stood tall in a purple trench coat that seemed to defy gravity, but a smirk broke out on his face when he caught Reika's eye. "Relax Wheeler, I'm not here to shop. I'm here to pick up my _date_."

"What the hell? Who would – "

"You really don't want to finish that sentence, Joey," she finally said, looking around the room. "I'll be back tonight to tell you guys about the exhibit."

Yugi's face lit up, although Reika couldn't tell if it was because of the news of the date or because she was going to the exhibit. "Have fun! I can't wait to hear all about it. Maybe you'll find some clues for the spirit of the puzzle!"

"That's what I'm hoping," she replied with a smile toward her cousin as Seto's hand settled against her lower back, leading her out the door.

When they pulled up to the museum, the lights from the photographers nearly blinded her. Did they really have so many journalists in Domino?

"Hm. Less than I thought there'd be," Seto hummed from her left. "Are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," she replied, twisting the bracelet so the golden eye faced her body instead of the cameras as Roland pulled the door open, the chattering of journalists beginning to ring in her ear.

It was subtle, but something transformed in Seto's face as he stepped out of the car and held his hand out to help her. He seemed to be taller, more rigid as they made their way up the museum steps, her violet eyes darting around to each voice shouting for them, his sharp blue staring straight at the doors, his arm firm against her back.

They made it through the glass doors of the museum, and she exhaled in relief as they walked around, looking at the artifacts. Azila chimed in once in a while, remarking about how she remembered this or that.

"Seto Kaiba!"

She noticed Seto's jaw tighten as an equally tall man with salt and pepper hair and blue eyes sauntered up to them.

"Fujio Yamazaki," Seto greeted curtly. "I'm surprised they invited you to something like this."

Fujio smirked. "Why Mr. Kaiba, Yamazaki Industries are doing just fine even without the help of your step-father's company. Why wouldn't we be invited to this beautiful event? I'm surprised you even showed up considering your hate for history."

"Yes, well, as you can see I'm not alone. I can do things for someone other than myself, you know."

Reika's spine straightened as high as it would go as she gazed at the man with a plastic smile on her face. "Reika Mutou. I'm studying archaeology so when Seto called and told me about the exhibit, how could I pass it up? It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Yamazaki."

She wished she could have a photograph of the shock on the older man's face as he wordlessly held out his hand, shaking hers and regarding Seto with a strange look before walking away.

"I don't know how you managed to shut him up so quickly. Good work," Seto said with an amused look on his face as they walked around the museum.

Reika grinned, pausing in front of a small statue as Seto was called away by one of the museum employees.

"Great Royal Consort Azila…" she murmured, seeing the bracelet light up, and she pressed it into her side to hide the light. _"What is this thing doing?"_

 _"Gathering power… being around my statue again, and these other things that were around in my life… it's making my power grow. That way people can actually see me face to face instead of just in a mirror. I can help better that way."_

 _"Yes, I suppose so…"_

"Excuse me, I don't mean to sound rude, but did you come in with Seto Kaiba?" a voice asked from behind her.

She blinked and turned around, finding herself face to face with an older woman, who looked like she couldn't be much older than seventy. "Oh, yes, I did. Why do you ask?"

The old woman smiled at the confirmation. "I'm so glad to hear that. It's about time that boy found someone that makes him happy. He deserves it after putting up with Gozaburo for so long."

"I – what? Who said anything about – "

"I have known Seto Kaiba since he was adopted, and I know he wouldn't have invited you here if you didn't mean something to him," the woman said with a chuckle, eyeing her again. "I am Maho Takagi. My company and I are partners with Kaiba Corporation."

Reika bowed respectfully. "My name is Reika Mutou. It's nice to meet you, ma'am."

"You as well. Are you a fan of ancient history?"

She nodded, trying not to let the still-glowing bracelet be visible to the woman's gaze. "I am, yes. It runs in my family I think. My grandfather is a massive fan of it as well. He's taken some trips to Egypt and I'd love to go myself one day."

Reika and Maho continued to walk through the exhibit, Reika taking mental notes about pieces that were connected to the mysterious Pharaoh that had taken up residence in the Puzzle.

"Mrs. Takagi. I didn't know you were invited to this little gathering," the unmistakable voice of her boyfriend rumbled, his shadow casting a slight bit of darkness over the shorter woman's head. "It's good to see you."

"Ah! There you are Seto."

Seto inclined his head. "I'm afraid we can't stay much longer. I need to get started on a new project we're developing. I'll call on you when I'm ready for some extra help," he explained, putting an arm around Reika's waist.

Maho rolled her eyes in amusement. "You're always ready to leave whenever things start to get good. It was lovely to meet you, Reika. I hope you're both very happy together."

She nodded and smiled, walking out of the museum with Seto. The press had cleared out during the few hours they'd been inside, much to her relief.

"Mrs. Takagi was very sweet. So what were you called away about?" she asked when they were back in the privacy of the car.

Seto pulled a card out of his jacket pocket and handed it to her. "This. It's called an Egyptian God Card. The woman running the exhibit gave it to me… and she gave me an idea."

She didn't like the look of this card, and she heard Azila's sharp intake of breath. "An idea? What sort of idea?"

"You'll have to wait and see. I'll announce it soon."

"You don't even want to tell your girlfriend your grand idea?"

"I can't, we're already back at your game shop," he smirked as the car stopped.

"You got lucky this time," she chuckled, stepping out of the car after giving him a quick kiss. "Talk to you tomorrow." She turned to wave goodbye to Roland before going inside.

Predictably, the living room was a mess, half-empty bags of chips and soda bottles were shoved together on one table, and a Dungeon Dice Monsters board lay half-played on another. Duel Monsters cards were carefully resting near their owners. Five sleeping teenagers were spread out around the room, and Reika smiled softly. There was no need to disturb them tonight.

It was going to be hard enough to explain the appearance of ancient Egyptian spirits living in jewelry when everyone had a full night of rest.

 _The swnw stood just inside the king's throne room, clutching her medical equipment tight to her as she stared at the tall man at the window. The room had a heavy air of grief and sadness, and she felt her chest tighten just slightly. It wasn't too late to turn and run from the room, to insist that another look after the pharaoh, but she knew they already had a level of trust, and to tear that from him so soon after everything would do more harm than good._

 _She cleared her throat. "My king – "_

 _"Is it time already?" the man replied, cutting off her sentence before it even began. He sighed heavily and took a seat at his throne. "Let's get this over with. I have a lot of work that needs to be done."_

 _She shuffled over without a word, beginning the checkup of their beloved Pharaoh. "They say you have not been eating well, my king. As your swnw I'm conc – "_

 _"I am the ruler of Egypt, overseeing massive rebuilding efforts, and mourning the loss of my best friend. Forgive me if I seem to be unable to eat," he snapped at her, his eyes narrowing. "If you continue to push me like this, I will have you and everyone gossiping about me, killed."_

 _Her chin rose in defiance as she continued her checkup. "Then at least I would die doing my job – trying to keep Egypt's king alive. Haven't we lost enough, Pharaoh Seto? I don't think Egypt could bear another blow._ He _wouldn't want this, would he?" she implored._

 _His lips curled into a frown, never a look a servant should want to see when talking to their king."No. He wouldn't want this. Thank you Azila."_


	8. Chapter 8

Many people would consider five-thirty in the morning too early to start their day, but for Reika, having lived a life at sea for the past year, she had an appreciation for how everything felt that early in the morning. It was so peaceful, and it gave her plenty of time to gather her thoughts from the night before.

The only problem with this was preparing breakfast while the rest of the house was still asleep was like walking on a tightrope. With every move she made, she risked waking her cousin or one of his friends, feeling like she was walking on bubble wrap with each step she took, each cabinet she opened and each thing she took out. Starting the water for tea was a nightmare, but in the end, she settled in with a mug of green tea and an apple, looking at the newspaper that had been delivered and snorting slightly at the small photograph of she and Seto splashed on the front page.

"Morning," Yugi said from the doorway.

"Hey. Did I wake you up?" she asked.

Yugi shook his head and reached for a box of cereal. "No, Duke and Tristan's snoring did. Did you know that Dungeon Dice Monsters is popular in the United States? It's where Duke is from. When did you get back last night?"

"Yes I did and I think it was about one in the morning. But I know you, Yugi. You're beating around the bush, so ask what's been bothering you since I left last night," she said. She was trained to lie. Yugi, as much as she loved him, was not, and so she set the half-eaten apple down on the table next to her tea, folding her hands as she waited for the question to come.

"Does Kaiba make you happy?"

She had to admit, of all the questions she expected to come, that one was one of the last, but she was glad he started with that one, and so Reika smiled. "Yes. Very happy."

He smiled. "Well, good. I'm glad. Like I said at Duelist Kingdom, I'm not happy with what he did to grandpa, but I know he's your uh…"

"Boyfriend."

Yugi blinked, clearly surprised by her declaration. "I didn't think he'd move _that_ fast after one date."

"It's been two years since we went on our first date, Yugi. First date happened a few months after Gozaburo… well, you know," she shrugged as she stood and tossed the apple core away.

"Can you… remind me what day that was again?" Yugi asked with a small frown.

She frowned in returned, leaning against the counter. "May 8th. Why?"

"Because… that was the day he kidnapped grandpa… and the spirit of the puzzle said there was a lot of darkness in him that day. He did some mind magic thing to help get rid of it."

She exhaled through her teeth slowly and nodded a little. "He doesn't like to think or talk about it, but Gozaburo has had a bit of a stranglehold on him, not that it excuses him at all. It makes sense that the darkness would be strong on that day. And by the way, I need to talk to your spirit friend. I found some things out last night that he needs to hear."

There was a bright flash, and the Pharaoh sat before her.

"What is it?" he asked.

"You were – you were a Pharaoh," Reika said.

He stared. "A Pharaoh?"

"Yes. And a powerful one at that," Azila said, appearing in the room and bowing slightly. "My name is Azila. It's been a long time. I was a member of your court before you… sealed yourself away."

"What is my name?"

Azila's face fell slightly. "I'm afraid I don't know that. Your name was erased from history and as such… by the time I got to the afterlife it had been forgotten. That's why I've come to help you find your way back to your name… and to put you to rest."

Reika traced the design of the tea cup with her finger, looking between the spirits. "I think we should go to the museum today and look at the exhibit yourself," she told him. "I'm sure there are parts of it I missed."

Pharaoh nodded.

So that was where they found themselves later that morning., with Yugi's gang of friends tagging along with them.

 _"You know, they didn't get this statue of you quite right,"_ Reika thought to Azila as she stood in front of the small, doll-like figure behind glass.

 _"The statue is three-thousand years old and a carving. They didn't have those little flashy things like you people have now,"_ the spirit retorted, now a reflection in the glass.

"I'm pleased to see you return to the exhibit, Reika Mutou," a voice said from behind her. "Thank you for bringing the Pharaoh here."

Startled, Reika turned to find a tall woman standing behind her. The thing she noticed immediately was the Millennium symbol on the necklace she was wearing. "Um. Hi. I don't think I spoke to you yesterday," Reika replied.

"We did not, but I knew you would be here today. I am Ishizu Ishtar, the curator of the exhibit. Please, if you all would follow me…"

The group exchanged skeptical looks, but followed the dark-haired woman into a further room, where two large stone tablets hung on the wall.

"Whoa! Those are Duel Monsters!" Joey exclaimed, his blue eyes widening.

"Yes, Mr. Wheeler. These tablets depict Duel Monsters as it was played back in Ancient Egypt. Players used magic to turn their monsters real," the woman explained. "This tablet depicts the friendship and rivalry between the nameless Pharaoh and one of his priests."

"So that's me…" the Pharaoh whispered, taking in the large tablet. "And that's the Dark Magician by my side and… Kaiba? What in the world?"

"Yes. You and Kaiba have been locked in a centuries-old rivalry since Ancient Egypt. He was your successor after you sealed your soul away." There was a bright light for a moment, and when it faded, the Pharaoh's eyes were wide, as if he'd seen something.

"So that was… a piece of my life?" he asked.

Ishizu nodded slightly. "But this isn't the only reason I've called you back here. There are a group of thieves running around trying to steal cards. They call themselves Rare Hunters."

"I don't want to sound rude, but shouldn't you be going to the police about a group of thieves? I mean, we're sixteen years old. What can we do to stop them?" Tristan asked with a small frown.

"I have, but there is only so much they can do. The Rare Hunters are duelists, so the only way to draw them out is to duel them… and I know you will be the ones to defeat them because I have foreseen it with my Millennium Necklace," Ishizu explained. "There will be another tournament held soon. The end of it will hold another key to your memories, Pharaoh."

Reika couldn't help but frown slightly. What was this woman's goal?

"Well, this has all been fascinating. I'm sorry to bolt on you like this guys, but my dad needs me back home so we can finish putting the shop together," Duke said with a smile as he left the room.

"I'm pleased to know that you will have such a large group of people helping you on your quest, my Pharaoh," Ishizu said with a smile. "And I'll be in contact with you."

The Pharaoh nodded slowly, and the rest of the group turned to leave.

"Oh, and Reika?" Ishizu said carefully when Reika hit the doorway, her cousin and his friends walking further away. "There is a war coming. A war that pits black against white."

She froze, turning slowly on her heels. " _What_?" she asked, her voice dangerous as she slowly moved back toward the other woman. "What did you just say?"

Ishizu didn't seem fazed by her tone. "In that other world. The losses will be few, but they will be great, and the world as it is known will never be the same."

Her mouth set in a thin line. "Is that all you know?"

She nodded. "I only get small glimpses of the future."

"Miss Ishtar, if you are seeing a war in another world then –"

"I have been in contact with Yume already, but I assumed you should be the one to tell them about the war."

"Why me?"

"Because I saw you and your friends fighting at the center of it."

Reika's blood ran cold, and she quickly exited the room, where Yugi and his friends were waiting for her. They hadn't overheard. Good. The last thing she wanted was to have to explain to her cousin what it was he'd heard.

"Hey Reika, we were going to go get some lun –"

"You go ahead. There's something I need to take care of," she said in a rush, pushing the door open and running down the steps, inwardly groaning when she heard her cousin and friends following after her.

"Wait Reika, slow down!"

"I'll meet you at home!" she called as she practically threw herself into the doorway of T.A.I.D.R headquarters, guilt threatening to spill over her as the door unlocked and slammed shut, relocking just as the group reached the doorway. She mouthed a quick apology to them and slipped further into the building and up to Yume's office.

The older woman looked up and frowned when Reika knocked on the door. "Oh – Reika, I didn't think I had you scheduled to come in today."

She shook her head. "Ishizu Ishtar has foreseen a _war_ , Yume. In the other world."

Yume pressed her lips together in a frown, gesturing for Reika to take a seat, which she did. "She is not the first one to predict such a thing. What else did she say?"

"She said it would pit back against white… and that my crew was at the epicenter of it," she explained. "But she isn't the first? So there is going to be a war?"

"This shouldn't surprise you, Reika. We're a part of the Revolutionary Army after all. But yes, it has been prophesized that there will be a war. That it would usher in a new era. No one ever saw who would be fighting in it," Yume explained. "Thank you for your information. I must inform Dragon at once."

Reika could only nod, a sense of foreboding settling in her stomach as she left the room, carefully making her way back home and hoping she didn't make too much noise as she entered the side door.

"What the _hell_ was her problem?" she heard Joey ask in his loud voice, a can of soda slamming against the table. "I mean, we just wanted to help her! She's helped us out a lot lately. We just wanted to return the favor!"

It was Yugi who spoke next. "I… I don't know. I've never seen her act like that before. She knows she can tell me anything – we made that promise when we were kids. It's not like her to not tell me something, especially if she's in trouble."

Téa was the next to speak. "Whatever's going on, I'm sure she has a reason for doing what she did. What I want to know is what that weird building she went into was."

"Yeah, that too," Yugi agreed. "If Reika's in trouble, we have to help her. She's willing to help the Pharaoh, so I should help her too."

"Why don't we watch her tomorrow? We don't have school!" Tristan suggested.

Well, she couldn't have that happen. She needed to placate them somehow so they didn't hurt themselves trying to tail after her.

"I'm home!" Reika called as she entered the kitchen with a smile. "I'm so sorry for brushing you guys off earlier. It was an emergency involving one of my friends, but it's all good now!"

"I uh – got you some lunch, Reika, if you're hungry," Yugi said, forcing a smile as he looked up at her.

Reika's smile grew. "You did? Oh thanks Yugi," she said, taking a seat at the table and grabbing it out of the bag. "Beef noodles! You remembered my favorite!"

Yugi shrugged and returned her smile. "Of course I did. You weren't gone that long. What was wrong with your friend?"

She exhaled, twirling the noodles around in her take-out container as she tried to think of what she could tell him. She couldn't tell them the full truth, but maybe she could fudge some things and they'd accept it. "My friend is a private detective. I… I asked him to look into what happened to my parents."

Yugi inhaled sharply. "You _what_?! Does grandpa know?"

"No, and you're not going to tell him until he finds something. I don't want to give him false hope. Anyway… Ishizu – the woman at the museum – she saw something with that necklace that I needed to tell him."

"What did she see?"

Reika swallowed tight. "She saw a war."

"Are your parents in trouble?" Téa asked with wide eyes.

"I don't know! That's why I had to run to tell him. He gave me a keycard to his private office because he doesn't like too many people to know what he does for a living. I don't even want to get my hopes up until I know for sure what happened to them. I'm sorry," she said, looking around. "For all I know, the war she saw was something involving those Rare Hunters she talked about. But if there is a war coming…" she looked at Yugi directly, but she couldn't find any more words.

Yugi looks at her with wide eyes. "You don't have to protect me anymore, Reika. I can fight on my own now."

She sighed and nodded, forcing herself to smile. "I know I don't, Yugi, but that's not going to stop me from worrying."

He returned the smile. "I don't know what destiny has in store for us, Reika, but I'm glad we get to go through it together."

Reika chuckled and put a hand on his. "Me too, Yugi."

She tried to ignore the twist of guilt in her gut.

"The latest intel says the Marines took credit for taking down Baroque Works," Akio said a couple of weeks later with a snort as she dropped into the chair next to Reika and dropped a stack of paperwork in front of her. "They're giving Smoker a promotion and everything."

Reika rolled her eyes as she scanned the files. "Of course they are. They can't possibly admit that a pirate crew took down a gang that operating under someone that had the protection of Marines…" she shook her head. "I can't believe the first Marine I met in that world was that guy. He really has it out for Luffy."

"Smoker never saw your face, right?"

"What kind of spy do you take me for?" Reika asked with a grin. "The only time I didn't have a wig on was when I was alone with the crew. Or in the hospital right before I came back to Domino." Which reminded her, she needed to find time to fix her wig so it was ready whenever she got called back to work in the field.

Akio laughed. "Sorry. Have you been adjusting okay to being back home? I can't imagine what it's like coming back here after a year."

"Eh, it's fine. Considering I've had to deal with a two kidnappings in the last couple of weeks since I've been back, it's like I never left the other dimension. I swear, things weren't nearly this exciting here before I got my orders," she said, shaking her head.

"Well, the Shadow Games hadn't begun yet when you left, and now every bad guy who has an item is after you. And Yugi. Speaking of, you've talked to him about how dangerous things are, right?"

Reika scoffed around the lip of her water bottle. "That wasn't exactly a conversation we needed to have. But we're both on the lookout for Rare Hunters. Apparently the spirit of the puzzle is going to be key in taking them down or something so… yeah Yugi's aware that things are going to get worse before they get better."

"Well good. He's such a nice kid it doesn't make sense that he was pulled into something like this," Akio said with a small frown.

"We were all nice and innocent kids once, weren't we? And then destiny decided to give us all a wake- up call by throwing other worlds, missing parents and ancient Egyptian artifacts with souls inside of them at us," she said.

"I think that just makes life more exciting," Akio said with a sad smile. "But I hope you know that I'll always be here to help you out with any of this. That's what best friends are for, right?"

Reika smiled. "You have no idea how much you sound like Yugi's friends right now. But yes, of course I know that." They had been friends since they were kids, Akio had helped her mourn Noah's loss and they'd ended up being selected for T.A.I.D.R together.

Her phone buzzed, and she sighed when Téa's number popped up. "Here we go again. Hi Téa. What's up? Yugi and Joey didn't show up at the hospital? Okay, I'll look around the business district. Let me know if you find them."

Akio's eyebrow was raised as she ended the call, and Reika sighed. "Want to help me out? Yugi and Joey are missing. They went to Burger World while Serenity was in surgery and haven't made it back yet."

Akio nodded, and with a quick heads-up to Kenji and Yume, they were off.

* * *

Minako Fujia liked working at Kaiba Corp. It paid well, she'd met her boyfriend, and Mr. Kaiba wasn't nearly as terrifying as people thought he was.

The only thing was when Mr. Kaiba had a meeting, no one ever was supposed to bother him (especially with this meeting, since it was about the new tournament he was planning), and the phone call she'd gotten, well… it was an emergency that he needed to know about.

Minako paused outside the meeting door, her heart pounding against her chest anxiously, before she took a deep breath and knocked on the door. At the gruff " _enter_ " from her boss, Minako poked her head in the room.

"Mr. Kaiba?"

"This better be good, we're nearly done," he said, his gaze hard as he looked at her.

"Solomon Mutou called. It's Reika. She's in the hospital."


	9. Chapter 9

_"Look! Smoke!"_

 _"Do you think that'll lead us to Joey and Yugi?"_

 _"It's the only clue we've got, come on!"_

 _The warehouse was already smoking by the time they ran up to it. Any good instinct would have told her to call for help and wait, but Yugi and Joey were in there, and she would never leave them in there when she knew she could fight._

 _"Hello Reika Mutou," one of the Rare Hunters said as he stopped in front of her."What an honor it is to meet you."_

 _Reika stared at the man. It was Bandit Keith, right? The face and the bandanna were dead giveaways, but the voice... something was wrong with the voice._

 _"Who are you? What do you want?"_

 _"I'm the leader of the Rare Hunters. And I see you have something I'm after…" the unfocused eyes looked down at her wrist, where her bracelet lay. "Give me the bracelet."_

 _"No."_

 _A growl. "No matter. I can just come back for it later after you and your cousin have perished in the flames!"_

 _Even as Reika braced herself, Bandit Keith's brute strength shoved her into the mass of smoke and fire, and Reika could hear the distinct sound of a door slamming behind him._

* * *

Seto Kaiba stormed through the hospital doors with Mokuba at his side and a scowl on his face. The message from Minako had been one of the last things he'd expected from her mouth, but at least she knew what constituted as an emergency.

"Mr. Kaiba, Mokuba!"

Solomon Mutou hurried over to them, looking pale, but still managed a small smile.

"Where is she?" Kaiba snapped. "What the hell happened?"

"She's in a room, they're waiting for test results. She was in a fire… so were Yugi and Joey. As I understand she and her friend went to look for them and got trapped themselves," Solomon said, exhaling shakily.

Mokuba stared. "What? Why were Yugi and Joey in a fire?"

Solomon shook his head as they made their way through the emergency department and into the more private rooms. "A duel gone horribly wrong. Thugs called Rare Hunters targeted them. Reika went to go find them and somehow the building caught fire."

 _"You think_ I'm _the loser?! When was the last time_ you _even_ talked _to Serenity?! At least I did somethin' and went to Duelist Kingdom to get her money for the surgery! And today, I was helpin' a friend of mine and got trapped with him!"_ Wheeler's voice, somehow even louder than it usually was, shouted from one of the rooms. _"You don't get to come in here playing concerned father now."_

Kaiba chanced a glance over at Solomon, who had his fists clenched at his sides as they moved down another hallway.

Still…

"Wheeler's voice got even louder than usual," he muttered, looking at the man. If he wanted to talk, he would. If he didn't, he wouldn't.

Solomon paused and sighed. "Joey's father… I don't think I should say much without his permission, but he is not a good person as I'm sure you could figure out. He… struggles with alcohol and has never cared about Joey or his sister Serenity. I'm not even sure why he's here, truthfully."

A poor man's Gozaburo. Kaiba had suspected as much. As much as he detested Wheeler, there was an uncomfortable twinge of understanding in his gut.

"Reika's in room 204, Kaiba," Solomon said, breaking him from his thoughts.

Kaiba paused outside the door, brow furrowing slightly. "You're not coming in?"

"I figured you could use a private moment with her."

He blinked, trying not to show surprise, but nodded once in thanks as he reached into his pocket and gave Mokuba some money. "Go see if there's anything edible in the cafeteria. I'll let you know when to come back up." His gaze turned to Solomon, blue eyes narrowing slightly. "I trust I can keep him in your care and not have to worry?"

Mokuba grinned. "Of course you can Seto! C'mon Mr. Mutou!"

Kaiba wondered how it was so easy for his younger brother to be around people, before shaking his head and entering Reika's room. He found her on the bed with her fingers furiously typing away on her phone, with too many wires sticking out of her than he would ever be comfortable seeing. She looked relatively unharmed aside from a few small bandages on her face and arms, but it was her ankle, raised, that caused him the greatest concern.

"Are you okay?" he asked, dropping gracefully into a chair by her bed.

She looked up and put the phone on the table next to her, face breaking into a wide smile. "Seto! Hi! I'm just sore right now. I'm fine, I promise. They just wanted to make sure that I'm clear of smoke in my lungs before they discharged me."

He leaned over to her and pressed his lips against hers hard, the scent of ash and smoke still clinging to her skin alongside her perfume and the faintest hint of the sea that drove him insane. Her delicate fingers traced against his cheek and into his hair and it took all of his energy for him not to shiver.

They only broke apart when someone cleared their throat, and they jumped apart. Reika's face was red and Kaiba calmly fixed his hair as he turned to face the doctor.

"Well?" he snapped, standing to his full, imposing height when the doctor simply stood there, looking embarrassed at what they'd walked in on.

The doctor cleared her throat. "Your test results came back, Reika… they're normal. We'll start the discharge paperwork for both you and your cousin shortly."

Relief hit him, but his face remained stoic as he nodded. "Good. Do it quickly. I'm sure the Mutous are eager to get home."

The doctor let out a sort of squeak and quickly fled from the room as he turned back to his now very un-amused girlfriend.

Reika sighed, putting her phone into a small bag Kaiba could only assume Solomon had brought. "You didn't have to put it that way, you know. The staff here has been very kind to me."

He took a deep breath, cupping her cheek and dragging his thumb across her skin. "I don't like that you're here."

A black eyebrow quirked. "And you think I do? They told me I shouldn't put any weight on my foot for a _week_ Seto."

He couldn't help but feel a small smirk of amusement grace his features. "A pity. Perhaps that will teach you not to do something that dangerous again."

She huffed, narrowing her eyes at him. "You have no room to talk Mr. 'I'm going to break into Pegasus' castle to save my little brother and then get my soul ripped from my body because I lost a duel.'"

There was still fear in her gaze and Kaiba winced at how she looked, before pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I know. You're not the only one that still thinks of that day."

"Seto! Great news! We can give the cooks the night off!" Mokuba called suddenly, and Seto felt his stomach sink as his little brother burst into the room with Reika's family following behind. "Mr. Mutou invited us for dinner!"

Kaiba knew a trap when he saw one, and unfortunately, he saw no way out of this one as Reika gave the older man a nervous smile.

He'd play along and go to this dinner.

But that didn't mean he had to _like_ it.

"We… appreciate your offer," he said smoothly, looking at Solomon and Kumi. "Thank you."

Before long, he found himself in the small living quarters of Kame Game, his girlfriend disappearing down a hallway to shower, leaving he and Mokuba alone with her family.

"Just make yourselves comfortable," Kumi said with one of those manufactured smiles that Kaiba had grown so used to identifying. "Do you want anything to drink?"

Though his throat was growing dry (Nerves? It couldn't be nerves), Kaiba shook his head. "I'm fine."

"So… Kaiba, those Duel Disks that you had sent to the shop look quite interesting. I assume you have something planned for the official unveiling?" Solomon said with a much more natural smile.

He sat straighter on the lumpy couch and cleared his throat. "Yes actually, but I can't say much. It will be announced tomorrow night and then you can start to sell them as I instructed in the letter. I believe that the duel disks, along with what I have planned with them, will be a huge hit."

"Yeah!" Mokuba chimed in. "It's going to be great!"

Kumi gave another tight smile, coming back into the room as she took a seat with a mug of tea and a glass of water for Mokuba as the scent of dinner began wafting into the room. "Yes… I'm sure it will be fun. And these duel disks are safe, right?"

"Of course, Mrs. Mutou," he said smoothly.

"Well, I can't wait to see it Kaiba!" Yugi suddenly piped up, and Kaiba was, for once, grateful to hear his voice.

Yugi's excitement he could deal with. The unrelenting _stare_ from Kumi Mutou was starting to make him uncomfortable.

Not that he would ever admit it.

"Yes well… I hope that it is worthy of being on the arm of the King of Games," Seto replied, forcing himself to remain calm. There was still a burning anger inside of him that Yugi still had the title of King instead of him.

"I'm sure it will! That other one you had was so cool!" Yugi said with a winning smile. "And I can't wait for the official announcement tomorrow. It's been really hard keeping it from Joey and the others."

Kaiba, again, forced himself not to frown as the thought of Wheeler having one of his duel disks crept into his mind. "Of course it will. It's a Kaiba Corp product and a Kaiba Corp event. Which reminds me. I guess we can just give Yugi the invitation, Mokuba."

Mokuba nodded, pulling out Yugi's envelope and handing it to him. "Be down at the square at eight o'clock exactly!"

Yugi frowned in confusion as he tore open the envelope and pulled out the invitation inside. "A tournament? You guys are hosting another tournament?"

"Yes… Battle City. A battle of the best. One without any of that magical nonsense getting in our way. I'm hoping to erase Pegasus' cheating and lies with this," he said smoothly, looking at Kumi and Solomon as he spoke. He knew full well he and Mokuba weren't the only victims of what happened at Duelist Kingdom.

The smiles on Kumi and Solomon's faces were beginning to make his skin crawl, but he forced himself to relax against the lumpy couch as Mokuba (mercifully) took up the conversation.

* * *

Admittedly, it hadn't been the smartest idea to go charging into a warehouse looking for her cousin and Joey. But considering she and Akio were both trained fighters, she would have thought that they would have been able to hold off whoever had kidnapped them. And they had… until Bandit Keith had somehow managed to set the building on fire.

Still… even though she had a sprained ankle and her entire body was aching, she was just relieved that everyone had gotten out okay.

Letting out a sigh, Reika ran a comb through her hair, listening closely for any signs of yelling from the other room where she'd left Seto with her family.

"I don't hear anything," she said softly. "That's good, right?"

 _"You do not trust them to get along while you're simply taking a shower?"_ Azila replied from the mirror.

Reika exhaled slowly and set the comb down, beginning to braid her hair. "I trust Yugi, grandpa and Seto to hold their tongues if they feel they need to. My aunt… not so much."

 _"I am certain all is fine, Reika."_

"I hope so. Needless to say this is not how I thought today would go…" Reika said as she finished with her hair and looked in the mirror again with a sigh, grabbing her crutches. "Let's do this then."

"Well! You look better already!" Solomon remarked with a wide smile as she entered the living room. "Come sit down. Seto was just telling us about the new duel disk and tournament coming up."

Reika raised an eyebrow and looked over at him as she put her sprained ankle on an ottoman. "Oh?"

"Yes. I plan to reveal it to the public tomorrow. I'd like you to be there," Seto said.

She blinked, gesturing to her foot. "I'm not going to be able to, Seto. I can barely walk, let alone stand next to you at a podium."

"Who said you need use of your legs for this?" Seto asked with a small smirk.

As much as Reika usually _liked_ the smirk on his face, she had to admit to a bit of anxiousness about seeing it now. What in the world was he planning?

Something completely over the top, she had to guess, judging from the helicopter she was currently seated in. Still, seeing the city from this angle was… beautiful. The lights twinkled like stars below them, and the people moving around looked like some kind of art. Way up here, it was startling to see just how small Domino exactly was, compared to vast ocean that lay just next to them.

"It's magical, Seto," she said with a smile. "I'm glad I agreed to come."

His grip tightened around her waist, the ghost of a smile on his face as he leaned down to kiss her cheek. "I'm glad you're enjoying it, but you haven't seen the best part."

"Hm?" she hummed, frowning as she noticed the helicopter descending toward the middle of the very crowded square. "Seto, what – "

"We're clear, Mr. Kaiba," Fuguta said, from the cockpit as Roland went over to the door and pulled it open, to Reika's alarm.

"Clear for wh – Seto!" Reika cried as Seto climbed down a rope staircase, dangling above the streets of Domino.

"Remember, duelists of Domino. Battle City begins in one week! You can register and pick up your duel disks from the game shops in town. Only the best of the best will be allowed to take part, so I hope you're all ready!"

She heard him laugh – and _wow_ , he was getting good at the super villain laugh, she realized – before he was finally pulled back up into the helicopter with a satisfied smirk on his face.

"Well, that was something," she replied with a raised eyebrow. "You sure you want to host a tournament even after everything that happened with Pegasus?"

"What better way to take the attention off Pegasus than by having a tournament of my own?" Seto asked with a shrug. "And this will be the easiest way to raise the stocks in Kaiba Corp. Roland, how's it all going?"

Roland, holding a laptop, grinned. "Stocks have already risen and we're trending on all the major news sites!"

Reika could only chuckle, looking out the window of the streets below, shaking her head in amusement. "This was what you came up with the night at the museum, isn't it?" she asked as she watched the citizens of Domino buzzing around in excitement. "Ishizu must have made a compelling argument for you to host one."

"Ishizu Ishtar had a decent suggestion and gave me a card to use during the tournament. Nothing more, nothing less. It had nothing to do with the tablet on the wall of the museum."

"I never once implied that it did." Although, given how defensive he was being about all of this, well, she couldn't help but wonder if a tiny part of him _was_ thinking about the tablet. However, she could tell that the subject bothered him, so she wouldn't mention it now. "Still, I'm glad some good came out of that trip for you."

"Yes, I suppose so."

His arm came up to wrap around her, and she rested her head against his shoulder as the helicopter made its way back to Kaiba Corp headquarters.

Her cell phone buzzing broke through the peaceful silence that had filled the helicopter, and Reika sighed, pulling it out of her pocket with an annoyed look, but when she saw it was Kenji's number, she frowned and put the phone to her ear, carefully pulling away from Seto.

"Hello?"

 _"We have a problem."_

"Really?" she said dryly, "I couldn't tell."

 _"Reika, seriously, now is not the time for your sarcasm. The boundary between the dimensions is beginning to weaken. There's a chance that people from the other dimension could start getting through... and people from our world could end up there."_

Her head snapped up. "What?"

 _"Yes. I'm going to need all hands tracking the energies and locations of the crews we're watching. Akio will pick you up when you land at Kaiba Corp."_

Reika's mind was reeling, but she swallowed a knot in her throat. "Okay. I'll see you soon. Bye."

"Everything okay?" Seto asked. "You seem concerned about something."

"Hm? Yeah – everything's fine. Akio and I just need to discuss some things, so I'm going to go to her place for the night," Reika replied with a soft smile, leaning to kiss his cheek as they landed on the roof of Kaiba Corp. "I'll see you soon."

It wasn't long before she was seated in front of one of the many computers in TAIDR headquarters, watching the strange rise and fall of the energy being generated in the fragile veil between the two worlds.

"Are you sure this has nothing to do with the Millennium Items?" she asked Kenji with a frown. "They give off weird energy sometimes, and with how many are in Domino…"

"I'm positive. Look at the waves on the screen. The energy of the Millennium Items is always a yellowish-gold color. This is… turquoise," Kenji replied, pointing at the two different wavelengths, which only had Reika frowning in concern.

"Hmm. I see that. What sort of power can do such a thing?" she murmured to herself, resting her chin against her palms as she stared up at the screen. "There's no way we can fully block this, can we? People are going to notice something odd happening around Domino if we can't contain this."

Kenji sighed. "No. There's been no way to contain it so far. We haven't even been able to pinpoint the location. It's not natural, but the readings are showing up as if it is."

Reika couldn't stop the shiver that ran through her, leaning back in her chair and rubbing at her arms with a frown. She didn't like this. She didn't like this at _all_.

How much could they take before everything that they had crafted so carefully fell to pieces?


	10. Chapter 10

His head hurt.

The black-haired pirate groaned, opening his eyes and shielding his eyes from the bright sunlight. Wait – sunlight? That wasn't right. He'd been on a winter island last time he'd checked, and winter was far from this warm.

He shrugged his heavy coat off of him and looked around. A beach? How had he ended up on a beach? Had he sleep walked again?

Scratching the back of his head, he frowned. Absolutely nothing about this island looked familiar to him at all. The large buildings were not something he was used to seeing. Was this something to do with the World Government?

Glancing around the beach, his frown only deepened when he noticed no one seemed to be giving him a strange look. They all seemed to be preoccupied with enjoying the day and themselves.

Well, there was no time like the present to find out what was going on, right? So he rose to his feet, dusting off his hat and hoisting his bag over his shoulder, making his way onto the busy streets of… wherever this was.

His eyes caught a name, and he frowned. Domino? He had never heard of this island before, and he thought he knew plenty of excellent navigators.

Even though he was confused as hell, there was nothing wrong with exploring, right? Maybe he'd find an answer as to how he got here.

Letting out a sigh, he put a hand on his stomach as it rumbled loudly at the scents coming from the food stands set up near the beach. Well, at least he'd be able to get some food.

"I'll take an order of your noodles," he said, pulling out a few coins and handing it over to the man as he handed over a container of the delicious smelling food, disappearing in the large crowd. And not hearing the man's shouting for him as he gazed around curiously. Were those carriages driving along the street? How did _those_ work?

"Hey, did you hear? Yugi Mutou and Joey Wheeler are in a duel!"

"Aw man, the first duel of the tournament! This is gonna be great!"

A duel? A tournament? Well, that he could get behind. He did love watching a good duel, so he followed the teenagers in front of him, and was stunned at what he saw.

Creatures were being commanded by the humans. Creatures he'd never seen before.

What sort of place _was_ this?

The man watched with wide eyes as the teenagers won, and then the creatures just… vanished.

Now he was starting to wonder if he had actually died and fell into some sort of strange, alternate reality.

He backed away from the crowds then, turning and heading down an alleyway to hopefully get his head on straight, after discarding his empty food container in a nearby dumpster. It wasn't long before he heard the distinct slam of a body meeting metal, and he took off in the direction it had come in. He didn't know anything about that weird duel, but he did know the sound of a fight, and with any luck, fighting would be the same here as it was where he come from.

Instead of a fight, he found two young women standing over two unconscious bodies.

"Oh, hello ladies! I came by to help, but it looks like you have everything under control!"

* * *

Reika shook her head in amusement as she watched her grandfather sweeping outside and swaying to his own, excited beat.

"He's been looking forward to something like this for years," Aunt Kumi said when she noticed Reika staring at the older man. "Well… a tournament he'll actually be conscious for anyway. And since Yugi is called the King of Games, it adds a little more excitement, doesn't it?"

"Or pressure on Yugi to succeed and keep his title" Reika said, lifting the coffee cup to her lips. Aunt Kumi didn't realize just how important this tournament was. Yugi needed to win this tournament so they could stop the Rare Hunters.

Kumi let out a hummed laugh. "Regardless of whether or not Yugi wins, he has succeeded in my opinion," she said.

Reika couldn't help but let out a choked laugh around her coffee. "That's exactly what I would expect you to say."

"Well, I am his mother. Speaking of, he hasn't come down for breakfast yet. How strange." Kumi frowned then, glancing at the staircase. "Reika, do you think you could – "

Solomon was suddenly sprawled out on the ground, clearly having attempted to do some sort of ballerina leap, and failing spectacularly at it.

Kumi sighed. "I've got him. Maybe you can try talking to Yugi."

Reika winced at her grandfather's look before quickly moving up the stairs and frowning when she heard something smack against the wall and the distinct sound of her cousin muttering from behind the door.

"Yugi?"

"Oh – come in Reika!" he said in an usually chipper tone, and when Reika pushed the door open, she understood why he'd been faking.

Clothes were strewn all over the room, his sock drawer almost totally empty, and he'd begun pulling things out from under his bed that had a thin layer of dust on them, and Reika frowned immediately when she saw the state of the room.

"Uh… why does your room look like bomb went off in your sock drawer?" she asked, closing the door behind her.

Yugi laughed sheepishly, kicking one of the boxes back under the bed with his foot. "I can't find my gloves. Do you think yours will fit me?"

"Your gl – Yugi, why do you need your gloves? It's summer, and you're going to be out in the heat all day dueling."

He held out his hands, covered in small burn scars from touching the scalding hot Millennium Puzzle back in the warehouse. "To cover the scars," he said quietly.

Reika inhaled sharply. Compared to her own, it had been hard to notice Yugi's once he'd gotten out of the hospital… but she knew that to Yugi, they may as well have been neon pink marks on his skin.

"Don't cover them. The scars are nothing to be ashamed of," she said quietly, although she wasn't sure if she was talking to Yugi or to herself.

"What?"

"You heard me," she replied sharply, taking his hands. "Your scars are a symbol of bravery, Yugi. A symbol of a warrior. They're nothing to be ashamed of."

"You don't understand."

A bitter laugh rose from her throat and she avoided his gaze. "You're wrong."

"Wha – "

"You're not the only one in this family with a scar they're still getting used to," she snapped before exhaling through her nose and lifting her shirt just slightly so he could see the beginnings of her scar. "I have a scar too. It… it goes up to my shoulder."

"Reika, what the hell? How did that happen?"

She ran a hand through her hair, inhaling slowly as she dropped her shirt back over the scar and turned back to him. "I got in a fight. Jumped between a friend of mine and the man that was attacking him."

He looked flabbergasted, staring at her with his jaw hanging open. "I – what – Reika. _When_ did this happen?!"

"A few days before I came home. Don't give me that look," she said when she noticed Yugi's face turned into a frown. "It's been taken care of. I'm fine."

It wasn't a lie. It wasn't a lie. _It wasn't a lie_.

"Why didn't you tell us?"

She pressed her lips together, nudging one of Yugi's shirts over with her foot, revealing his bunched up gloves below, tossing them to her cousin before shrugging. "We had more important things to worry about."

A splutter escaped him again as he slipped his gloves on, before he finally sighed. "I guess you had your own reasons for doing that… I'm just glad you're okay."

She gave him a small smile. "I'm glad you are too. I gotta head out, I'm meeting Akio, but good luck today. Oh – and your mom wants you downstairs for breakfast."

Yugi nodded with a smile. "Thanks Reika. You're the best."

"I know I am," she teased, giving him a wave before leaving the game shop.

She exhaled sharply as she stepped into the fresh air. The city was practically buzzing with excitement of the Battle City tournament starting later that afternoon.

And yet, the people of Domino City had no idea just how much danger was lurking beneath the grandeur of Seto Kaiba's tournament.

Reika paused outside TAIDR headquarters, taking one last look at the excited city, before disappearing inside the building, and the excitement of Battle City was replaced with a sense of urgency and concern – and Kenji's gait as he made his way toward her was enough to tell her something was wrong.

"Reika. Right on time. We need you on surveillance today. With Battle City starting we know the Rare Hunters are going to be more active than ever. And we've still got portals popping up all over the city… and they've started spreading."

Reika sighed and took a seat at one of the computers. "Of course. Has there been any information about what's causing the portals to open up yet?"

"No, nothing yet. It's so odd. The computers are still showing them as natural, but there's absolutely natural about this. There _can't_ be. No one should have this sort of technology besides us."

Reika frowned, resting her chin against her hands as she watched the numbers and words scrolling across the screen, Kenji's footsteps growing quieter as he left the area.

"I don't like this…" Azila murmured, appearing next to her.

Reika looked over at her spirit companion, giving her a quizzical look. "I don't either, but if it's affecting _you_ , that's even worse."

Azila's voice was quiet, distant. "I could swear I've felt that aura before… when I was still alive. And actually… even after I had passed and they sent my spirit down to watch over the Puzzle."

"What? But you've been dead for three thousand years!" Reika's eyes widened. How could this phenomena be so old?

"I know, and yet we never thought the Shadow Games would return, but here we are," Azila retorted, her eyes focused on the computer screen. "Someone – or something – is returning. I need to continue thinking about this, Reika."

"Wait, Azila hold on – "

But the spirit vanished.

"Azila?"

When there was no answer from her companion, Reika exhaled shakily, closing her eyes and resting her palms against them for a brief moment. The downside to being an agent like this was that there was no one she could explain her worries to, until she'd met Azila, but now, Azila had gone silent too.

Letting out an exhale, Reika did the only thing she knew would bring her a small bit of comfort. Opening up the database of pirate crews they were keeping tabs on, Reika carefully entered three simple words:

 _Straw Hat Pirates._

The computer screen blinked for a moment, searching for her captain.

 _Straw Hat Pirates:_

 _Last known location: Mock Town, Jaya._

 _Updated: 9 hours ago._

Reika let out a sigh of relief. It appeared, for now, that no one had been transported to Domino. It gave her mind a small bit of hope that things weren't as bad as it appeared they were.

There was an unsettling quiet in her mind as she packed up her belongings at the end of her shift.

 _Buzz buzz._

She glanced down at her phone and smiled at the text message that greeted her.

 _Reika! I met the leader of the Rare Hunters. He has the ability to take control of people. I'll explain more when you get home, but he mentioned looking for you. Please be careful._

"Reika, you alright?" Akio asked.

Reika looked up from her phone. "Yugi met the leader of the Rare Hunters. This guy apparently can control minds. They're after my item too."

"Oh, well this just gets better and better, doesn't it?" Akio said with a sigh. "But it lines up with what Bandit Keith said during his interrogation. I'll come with you when you leave. Keep you safe."

Reika chuckled, rolling her eyes. "Fine, but I've got to pick something up before I head home."

"Sure Reika, whatever you need."

It didn't take them long to browse the accessories store and for Reika to find a pair of black fingerless gloves for Yugi. There had been a gnawing in the back of her head all day regarding the scars. Reika could hide her scars easily with shirts. Yugi couldn't do that, and she knew he would get too hot wearing full gloves.

"Let's talk about something other than work for a change," Akio said with a grin as Reika stood at the counter checking out. "How did you manage to snag someone like _Seto Kaiba_?"

"Seriously? Even _you're_ asking me that question?" Reika said with a small sigh and a shake of her head as the exited the shop, heading back to Kame Game. "It wasn't anything that special, honestly. Just two friends that grew into something more. That's it."

"What's he like when he's with you?"

Reika rolled her eyes. "Okay, now _that_ isn't any of your business. Seto is Seto, and I would never ask him to be anyone else."

"Well, isn't that sweet?"

Reika's spine stiffened, violet eyes narrowing at two men that appeared out of the shadows, wearing dark purple cloaks, embellished with a familiar symbol.

"Master Marik has been keeping an eye on you," one of them said with a smirk. "You have something we need. Why not just hand it over?"

"No."

"We thought you might say that, but we really don't wanna hurt a girl. So c'mon, just hand over the bracelet."

"Still no," Reika said, rolling her eyes. "Tell your boss if he wants the bracelet, he'll have to take it by force."

"We were prepared for such matters," the Rare Hunter said with a cruel smirk, reaching out in an attempt to grab her. She sidestepped him, slamming her foot into his back and shoving him down an alleyway. No sense in having a fight out in public like this.

"Alright fine, we'll do it your way. But you're not going to win," she said with a bored sigh as his companion joined him down the alley with a swift kick from Akio.

Akio hummed, stepping next to her and rolling her wrists to loosen them up for the fight. "I've been waiting for a good fight. Haven't had one in a while."

Both of the Rare Hunters got up with little problem, Reika nailing one of them in the stomach and back against the wall as he tried and failed to yank her back with him. He managed to get up again, staggering with heavy breath, aiming a punch at her that got her on her left arm, where her bracelet lay.

"I'll never give up the bracelet, as long as I live," she hissed dangerously. "I'd rather die than give it up to someone like you."

"Master Marik warned us you might be combative. We're prepared to take your bracelet in by any means necessary," the man said, blood beginning to drip down his nose and grabbing for her bracelet again.

Reika slammed her foot into his stomach again, and he fell into unconsciousness just as Akio slammed her new friend against the nearby dumpster.

For a moment, she and Akio stood there, panting from exertion and staring at the men, who remained still.

"Akio, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Are – "

"Oh, hello ladies! I came by to help, but it looks like you have everything under control!"

Reika tensed, spinning on her heels and putting up her arms at the new voice, before her hands dropped to her sides in shock.

"Ace?"

"Eh? Oh! I know you! You're a member of Luffy's pirate crew aren't you?" Ace asked with a wide grin that mirrored his younger brother's. "Wait, so if you're here, that must mean Luffy's here somewhere too, right?"

Reika's face fell slightly. "Ah… actually that's kind of a long story Ace. I had to step down from the crew temporarily."

"You what? Where's your sense of loyalty?" 

She flinched. She knew that was going to be brought up. IN a world where you were either on the side of the pirates and Revolutionaries or the Marines… loyalty was something everyone believed in.

"Reika's loyalty was to her family rather than piracy. Her grandfather had fallen ill and she came back here to care for him," Akio said, glaring at the man.

"I'm still loyal to your brother and I plan on returning to them as soon as I can," Reika added. "Right now though that's a little… complicated. "

"What?"

She gestured to the Rare Hunters on the ground. "Gotta stop those guys before I can think about returning to the crew. They're targeting my family so…"

"You need to help protect them," Ace finished for her.

"Yes."

"It's precious that you think you're going to win this war, Item Holder," a voice suddenly sneered from behind them.

The trio jumped, all going into a defensive stance as one of the rare hunters stood up, eyes dull, with the symbol of the Millennium Items glowing on his forehead.

"Well well. So we meet again, Reika Mutou," the Rare Hunter said, "I have to admit, I'm surprised you and your friend made it out of that fire. You're stronger than I anticipated."

"That's what they always say," she replied with a roll of her eyes. "What do you want?"

"My name is Marik Ishtar."

She froze at the name. Ishtar… as in – oh no. "And I should care because…?"

"Because if you aren't careful, that bracelet of yours is going to disappear in the blink of an eye."

"You literally just tried to steal it five minutes ago and now both of your goons are unconscious. I'm not that concerned," she scoffed.

Laughter, cracked and warped, sounded from the mind-controlled man, face twisted into an unfocused smirk. "I like a challenge, what can I say? You and your little cousin may have won the battle today, but remember, the war is far from over."

Reika narrowed her eyes. "Then we'll be ready."

"Good. I expected nothing less from the person that inherited the bracelet."

With that, the Rare Hunter dropped back to the ground, unmoving. Reika exhaled, pressing her fingers to his neck to confirm the lack of a pulse, and exhaled heavily, scratching the back of her neck.

"Well, there's no sense in calling Kenji. Looks like Marik took care of them," she said as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"What the hell was that?" Ace asked. Reika had almost forgotten he was there.

"That…" Reika said with a sigh, "is the reason why I have to stay here instead of going back to Luffy's crew. They're called Rare Hunters. They're after ancient artifacts. My cousin is the owner of one of the most powerful of them."

"I've never heard of anything like that before," Ace said with a frown. "Pops never mentioned that."

"Well that's something that you're not privy to. But I can get you home," Akio suddenly said. "Or… back to whatever island it was you were on."

Ace didn't seem to be all that convinced, so Reika gave him a smile. "It's alright Ace. Akio is my best friend. You couldn't be in better hands. I'm sorry I couldn't give you more answers. Good luck in finding Blackbeard. I'll tell Luffy you said hello next time I see him."

"Yeah. You too Reika. Stay safe from… whatever all of this is," Ace replied, giving her a wave and heading off with Akio.

Reika let out an exhale and retrieved her shopping bag, before making her way back to the game shop, and much like she had that morning, she found herself in Yugi's room once again.

"What's up, Reika?"

"I was thinking a lot about our conversation earlier. With the scars and everything… I realized that I can hide mine easily. You can't. I shouldn't be spouting off crap about bravery if I'm not brave enough to show mine… so I got you these. They'll hide your scars but your hands won't get too hot in the sun."

Yugi stared at the gloves, then up at her, eyes widening and tearing up.

"Reika… thank you."

"Of course. Hey… you want to go sit on the roof like we did when we were kids? Might be nice to forget about Rare Hunters or scars for a bit."

Yugi grinned. "Yeah!"

Within moments, Reika and Yugi were seated on the game shop's roof, looking up at the stars, a bag of chips between them, and the thoughts of Rare Hunters and waning veil between the worlds drifted away with the breeze.


	11. Chapter 11

_"Pharaoh… there was something you needed of me?" Azila asked as she swept into the room, brow knitted in worry as she clutched her medical equipment closer to her. "Are you ill? In pain?" Oh Ra, they wouldn't be able to recover from losing two kings in under two years Not while there were still mysterious deaths happening._

 _"How many deaths happened last night?" he asked, not turning away from the window._

 _"We have received word of three. One was not caused by any known illness. Are you feeling well, my king?"_

 _He turned to her, his lips pressed into a thin line. "I feel fine. I'm just wondering how much longer this country can take these mysterious deaths. Are you certain there was no known cause for the one yesterday?"_

 _"Yes my king. Your advisors did not tell you of this death?" she asked with a small frown._

 _"No, no. They have. I was just making sure that you knew as well."_

 _"So it was a test."_

 _His lips quirked into a smirk then. "Technically, yes. But not for you. I had to make sure my new advisors were actually competent enough to work under me."_

 _She gave him a small smile. "You are a smart man, my king."_

 _"I suppose I had to be, in order to take the throne," he replied, before heaving a heavy sigh and sinking back onto his throne. "One death then?"_

 _"Yes."_

 _"Even one is too many if we cannot figure out what is happening. I sent Mana to study that strange stone but… she has not found anything, other than the glow that doesn't seem to go away." The pharaoh rubbed his eyes. "This country is still in despair, despite my hard work in recovering after Zorc's attack…"_

 _"My king… these things are not your fault," Azila said, "the people of Egypt know this."_

 _The pharaoh let out a grunt of frustration, his fist banging against the arm of his throne. "They may know that I was not the one that ordered whatever is happening, but it is my job to stop it. To protect them. What sort of king am I if my people keep dying without any cause?"_

 _"What sort of king are you to speak with a tone that indicates that you are giving up?" Azila snapped, before bowing her head in shame. "My apologies, my king, but Egypt is in need of a strong leader._ He _would not have chosen you to succeed him if he did not think you were strong enough to guide Egypt out of the darkness."_

 _Seto's lips quirked just slightly. "How is it that you know what to say to make me feel better?"_

 _"It is my job to make you feel better, my king. I am a doctor after all."_

Azila let out a soft sigh as she appeared in Reika's bedroom, finding the young woman asleep in her clothing from the previous day, surrounded by paperwork and machines she still didn't know the names of.

"Reika…" she said softly.

The woman shot up, her eyes wide. "Oh – Azila. It's just you."

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah… sorry. I guess I fell asleep. If you could call it sleep…" Reika said with a groan, rubbing at her tired eyes.

"What were you doing all night?"

Reika rubbed her eyes again. "Watching the Battle City Finals. Yugi's currently on-board a blimp hovering above the city with their leader so… sleep isn't so easy to come by now."

Azila's eyes widened. "What? Is he safe?"

"Yugi is, yeah…" she said with a sigh. "I spoke with him last night. One of our friends lost her soul to the Shadow Realm though, so it's not great."

"Oh dear… but if I know the Pharaoh, I know he will be able to stop Marik Ishtar and protect all of the Millennium Items," Azila said with confidence.

Reika's face deadpanned as she pulled on a shirt. "Azila, you don't even remember his _name_. How do you know anything about him, then?"

"He saved Egypt. Why would he not be able to save you all as well?"

"Because whatever was terrorizing Egypt is different from what's terrorizing us now?"

Azila rolled her eyes. "How many times must I tell you that things will work out for the best?"

Reika simply sighed, pulling her bag onto her shoulder. "Until I see it for myself. Now, if you don't mind… I'm going to be stuck at work for the next forty-eight hours while my family thinks I'm going to a spa. Yay."

"Why did you not go with your cousin to the Battle City finals?" Azila asked with a frown.

"Because Ishizu convinced my boss that I was needed here instead for some reason. She has all that infinite wisdom because of that necklace of hers and all," Reika rolled her eyes as she spoke and swept from the room.

Azila frowned, left alone in Reika's bedroom, a feeling of dread beginning to prickle through her ghostly form. Whatever was left behind here for Reika Mutou… Azila had a feeling it was going to come at a high cost.

* * *

"Miss Mutou! It's been a while since you've been here. Did you want your regular bouquets?" the shopkeeper asked with a polite smile.

She nodded, forcing herself to look up at the woman. "Please. Thank you Kimiko."

Flowers in hand, Reika then made the long walk through Domino's cemetery, pausing to lay some of the flowers at her grandmother's grave, saying a prayer and burning some incense, before she continued her journey deeper into the cemetery and sighing as she sat in front of another grave.

"Your grave is filthy," she remarked dryly, carefully beginning to clean it, "is that why you keep haunting me, Noah?" Lighting the incense, she sighed heavily. "I don't understand why you've decided to invade my dreams twice in such a short period. What are you trying to tell me?"

The grave, of course, didn't speak back to her.

"That cartoon movie we watched all the time came on last night. Gave me a break from work, which was nice. Made me want to play the piano again," she continued with a sigh. "But it'd be hard to do that without you."

She sat quietly, looking at the grave in front of her, lost in her own thoughts, until her phone buzzed in her pocket. It was time for her shift to start.

Well, at least she had Akio with her, and at least she knew Yugi and the others were safe from Marik Ishtar and the Rare Hunters.

"Here, I grabbed some of the files Kenji wanted us to look at," Akio said the next evening as they settled in on the uncomfortable cots. "It looks like old business records. I don't know where Kenji and Yume would have gotten them."

"When in doubt, don't ask," Reika told her with a snort.

"Good call."

The two settled into a comfortable silence, the only sounds in the room the papers being shuffled around. It was peaceful, until an alarm started blaring through the organization. In seconds, Reika and Akio were sitting at the computers, trying to trace the source of the commotion.

"Got it," Reika finally said, the monitor finally zooming in on a warehouse. "There was a sudden burst of energy from this warehouse. The computer indicates it's the same energy that's used in the portals. Someone's coming into the city that shouldn't be."

"Damn…" Akio whispered. "We need to head down there."

Reika nodded, pulling on her jacket. "Yeah, I'll send out a call."

Before long, they found themselves sneaking inside the darkened warehouse, flashlights lighting their way through. It was advanced, well-cared for, and the cameras in the halls showed that people were here frequently.

"I can't believe this was under our noses all this time…" Akio whispered, voice slightly muffled through her black mask. "How did we avoid finding it?"

Reika shrugged, looking around. "I don't know. Whoever owns this must be good at hiding everything. But whoever they are… we need to make sure they can't finish whatever plan it is they have."

"Wait… what's that sound?"

Reika paused, listening closely as they slowly moved down the hallway. "That sounds like a heart monitor… like at a hospital. What the hell is going on here?"

Drawing their weapons, they approached the room in question, finding a large pod inside of it.

Reika froze. Either the lighting in the room was strange or… the face she could see inside it looked… familiar.

"Oh God… is that a kid?" Akio gasped in horror. "Reika?"

Dread began to spread through her, cold and menacing as she made her way further into the room. "No… no…"

"Reika?"

She broke into a sprint, skidding to a halt and feeling the color drain from her face as she got up close to the pod.

"No!" she screamed, unaware her legs had given out until she felt her knees collide with the cold tile floor, shaking hands grasping the pod for support and pulling her mask away from her face so she could breathe properly.

"Reika!" Akio shouted, pulling her by the shoulders and forcing Reika to look at her. "What the hell? Who is that?"

A brief moment of clarity found her as she pulled her hands away from the pod and up into her hair, gripping the strands tight in her fists. "H – his name is Noah Kaiba," she sobbed. "He's Gozaburo's biological son."

"Wait – what? Then how come – "

"They told me he was dead…" she whispered. "They told me he was _dead_!"

"Who did, Reika?"

She suddenly went rigid as realization struck her, looking at Akio with wide, horror-filled eyes. "The Big Five did…" she whispered.

Akio stared back at her with an identical look. "Oh God. Then… that explains who has been in this warehouse. Come on. We need to get Yume and the others filled in."

Reika nodded, slowly rising to her feet with Akio's help. "I just…"

"It's okay. He was important to you, huh?"

"He was my best friend when we were kids…" she replied softly as she felt the bruising already beginning to form on her knees. "The first friend I ever had. He was hit by a car when we were twelve. I thought – I thought there was no way to save him…"

Akio kept a firm hold of her. "Well, don't worry. We'll figure all of this out."

"How?"

" _Focus_ , Reika. We're spies. We know how to solve these sorts of things."

Reika swallowed, shaking her head as she tried to clear it. "Right. Yes, of course we will I just… I can't believe this."

"I know, but you need to focus."

"Akio? Reika? What have you found?" Yume asked with wide eyes as the two stumbled into the room.

Reika heaved in a breath. "Gozaburo Kaiba's biological son… in a pod… being kept alive after being presumed dead. We – we think the Big Five own this warehouse."

Yume didn't seem fazed, nodding slowly. "Yes, that seems to line up with the documents we've found… and with the doctor that showed up here."

"Doctor?"

"Yes. I have some agents talking to her now. You're welcome to look in on the discussion if you want. She didn't seem all that interested in a conversation."

Reika nodded, taking another deep breath and trying to steady herself and making her way to the room Yume pointed out. She paused outside the door at the voices within, and she felt herself lose a bit of color in her face when the doctor's voice registered with her.

"Dammit…" she whispered.

"I won't tell you anything. My job depends on it!"

Swallowing tight, Reika opened the door, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared down her former doctor.

"Perhaps you'll answer my questions, then?" she asked with a raised brow. "After all, it isn't everyday one finds their old best friend alive after they've been declared dead by everyone they trusted as a child."

"Reika Mutou?"

"Hello Doctor Shizuki."

"What – how – why are you here?"

Reika took a seat at the table and laced her fingers together. "I think you should answer my questions first, doctor…"

Doctor Shizuki let out a sigh, rubbing her temples. "Okay. Since you've… somehow found this place. You deserve to know the truth." Taking a deep breath, the doctor steeled her gaze and looked at Reika with a sad smile. "They were going to tell you, eventually."

"The Big Five were?"

She nodded. "Yes."

"Where are the Big Five?"

"I don't know. They disappeared over a month ago after the Duelist Kingdom tournament ended."

"But they're still giving you orders?"

"Only to monitor Master Noah and make sure his body is still healthy. That's all, I swear, Reika. I never would have agree to this if I'd known you would find out early."

"You should never have agreed to this at all!" Reika snapped back. "You should have told me the truth from the beginning. I _trusted_ you!"

"You were too young… you wouldn't have understood."

Reika's eyes narrowed. "Not understood that my best friend was actually still alive after I thought he was dead?"

"The reason why they've done what they have…"

"What was the reason?!"

The good doctor went quiet at the question, and Reika lunged to grab her before she was pulled back by another agent.

"Reika, you aren't going to get answers from her this way… and besides, we have a bigger issue on our hands," the agent said, leading her outside so Shizuki didn't hear. "The Battle City blimp just went off the radar. There was a distress call sent out from Fugita."

There was little time for her to process that bit of information, before she was following the group through a quick portal to the Kaiba Corp Airship, finding a stunned Roland waiting.

"Fuguta, what the hell happened?" Yume asked.

"It was Noah Kaiba. He took everyone involved in the Big Five takedown plot hostage, so I assume he's working with them," Fuguta said with a small frown.

Reika rubbed her eyes. "Of course they are. Okay. So he's got Yugi, Seto, Mai, Tristan, Téa, Joey and Mokuba, I assume?"

"Duke Devlin and Serenity Wheeler as well. They insisted on going. We tried to follow them but… there are machine guns out there that stopped us," Roland explained.

Reika chewed the inside of her cheek before taking a deep breath. "We need to figure out a way to get in there without being shot. I'm a dead eye shot but it looks like those guns are on all sides. There's no way any of us would be able to get through that without looking like Swiss cheese."

"Might I suggest you take my brother along with you?"

Reika jumped and looked over. "Ishizu?"

Ishizu stepped into the room, flanked by two men. "Hello Reika. It's been a while, hasn't it? But yes, you should take Marik with you. His Millennium Rod will be able to stop any guards that might be in your path."

"Oh yeah, let me take along the guy who tried to kill myself and people I care about," Reika said with a snort. "Great plan, Ishizu."

"Marik is cured of the darkness that caused him to do that. The Pharaoh helped him. Allow this to be part of his redemption. Please."

"Fine," Yume said before Reika could protest further, staring straight at the Egyptian trio, "but he tries anything Ishizu, and he's being taken down."

Marik – the younger of the two men with Ishizu – pulled out the Millennium Rod and nodded. "I promise you. I will not bring harm to any of you. I owe a great debt to Yugi for helping to save me."

Reika adjusted the hood of her cloak and slid her mask back into place. "Let's go then."

Yume carefully stepped outside, throwing a few pieces of fruit into the motion sensor, waiting for the guns to fire. When nothing happened, the small group ran through the labyrinth, searching for anything that could be helpful.

"This place is huge. We're going to need to look through it more carefully once we find the others," Yume said, before they skidded to a halt in the largest room.

Reika's face fell as she took in her friends and loved ones stuck in pods, not unlike the one Noah was in.

"Oh my God… there's so many pods. What the hell are they planning?"

"Reika, look. There's Yugi," Marik suddenly said, pointing up at the large screen. "And… that almost looks like you."

Reika followed his gaze, eyes widening. "That _is_ me. But – from when I was nine. Why would he be with an nine-year-old me?"

Then, her grandfather entered the frame, visibly shaken and distraught, and her eyes widened, just as Yugi also seemed to realize what was happening.

"Oh no. I know what that is. This is the day we found out my uncle was killed. This is one of Yugi's worst memories," she explained.

"From the looks of it, all of them seem to be having their worst memories. They must have trapped them there," Akio said softly.

Reika ripped her eyes away from the screen, looking at the pods. "I'm going in," she said. "I have to get to Noah and tell him to stop."

"Reika – "

"You're not going to convince me otherwise, Yume. It has to be me," Reika said, walking over to one of the pods and opening it. Taking a deep breath, she took a seat inside and watched as it closed, before closing her eyes, feeling her mind separate from her body as the blinding light enveloped her.


	12. Chapter 12

Reika groaned softly, opening her eyes and lifting her head against the blinding sun's rays. Glancing around, she pushed herself up and took a few careful steps to get an idea of where she was.

Right outside the card shop… but something was wrong. For it supposedly being the middle of the day, Domino was awfully quiet. For a virtual world, this wasn't the same.

Which meant someone could easily spot her if she wasn't careful.

Pressing her ear to the back door of the game shop, she exhaled in relief when she didn't hear anything before slipping inside and up the stairs to her bedroom, dropping the cloak and mask on the floor and replacing it with the dark brown wig she wore to disguise herself for work and tucked her bracelet over her sleeve to conceal it from view.

"Miss Reika. What are you doing in this place?"

Reika's eyes widened, mind whirling. Ten minutes into this place and she'd already failed at stealth. But she was willing to try one more time…

She cleared her throat, swallowing before turning around slowly.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean, sir. My name is Sakura," she said softly.

His eyes narrowed. "Don't play games, Reika. The moment you opened your bedroom door we knew you were here. I am surprised your hair is suddenly one color though."

"If you knew from the minute I opened my door that I was here, I'm sure you've figured out why I have a wig, Mr. Leichter."

"Those damn agents brought you here, didn't they?"

"I came here willingly."

That seemed to catch him off guard, his jaw dropping briefly before he put the stern façade back on. "What lies did they try to sell you, Reika? Once we get out of here, I'm sure Johnson will be able to end them in court."

Reika slipped the wig off, considering her options. "They didn't have to sell anything, Leichter. I saw it for myself. You lied to me. You all _lied_ to me. Noah's alive, isn't he?"

"It wasn't supposed to be this way…" Leichter said, snapping his hands, making the black nothingness digitize to a Kaiba Corp boardroom, Leichter taking a seat at the head of the table and gesturing for her to sit. "You weren't supposed to find out until all of this was complete."

She remained standing, her gaze cold. "Find out that my best friend was alive and that my boyfriend, cousin and friends were dead?"

"We had no intentions to kill _all_ of them…"

"Did you stop and think about what even killing _one_ of them would do to me?" she asked. "You claim you care about me but between this and what happened at Duelist Kingdom… it makes a girl think."

Leichter raised a brow. "Of course I cared about you, Reika."

"But no longer, right? That's why you didn't bother to gives me the heads up about any of this?" she asked, sighing. "Where's Noah? I want to see him."

"Master Noah is occupied at the moment. But since you're here anyway, Miss Reika, why don't you fill me in on all of the adventures you've been on the past year or so?"

"It was just school, Leichter. Not all that interesting."

Leichter chuckled under his breath, snapping his fingers again. They were suddenly in Loguetown – the first town she'd been sent to on her mission for T.A.I.D.R. Reika felt the color drain from her face as she looked at him again.

"This doesn't look like school to me, Reika."

"Leichter…" she whispered, body beginning to tense.

"In fact… this doesn't look like anywhere on this planet. I think it looks like a whole different world entirely," Leichter hummed, stroking his jaw in mock contemplation. "It's strange that you have a memory of this place…"

"Get out of my head."

"You're the one that hooked yourself up to this world. But I get it now. You weren't just brought here by those agents… you _are_ one of them."

Reika said nothing, watching as her past disguised form ran by.

Leichter clicked his tongue. "You poor thing. You have no idea how dangerous these people are, Reika."

"I don't care."

"You should. This is bigger than you and I combined. These world have been connected much longer than you ever could have thought. And certain people know how to take advantage of that," Leichter explained.

Reika's eyes widened slightly. "Kaiba Corp."

"Indeed. You're just like your mother, Reika. So perceptive… you really could have been brilliant on our side. It's just a shame you're not."

She shook her head. "Seeing how many innocent lives have been destroyed by the Marines. All of the chaos and destruction that was supposedly in the name of _justice_. And all in the name of Kaiba Corp."

"You keep going on and on about how much blood has been spilled. It's fair, I suppose, since we sold weapons to the World Government, but what I wonder…" Leichter trailed off as he stepped closer to her, taking her chin in his hand as he forced her to look up at him, "is how much blood is on _your_ hands."

Reika tried to wrench her head out of his grip as she glared at him, but he held firm.

"You can't tell me you're some innocent flower that's never spilled a drop. Not with that look in your eyes."

Her head jerked, trying to get him to release her, again to no avail. "What do you want me to say? You've already read me like a book."

"I don't want you to say a _thing_ , Miss Reika. I want you to go back to being that sweet, quiet little girl you used to be and let us do what's right. And at the end, we'll let you go. I promise."

She managed to get herself out of Leichter's grip, letting out a growl that turned into a bitter sort of laugh. "Keeping Noah locked in here for six years was the right thing? You're a _monster_!"

"It was for the best. He was so injured, you know. We needed to keep him safe…"

"He's fine now. What's stopping you from allowing him to go free?"

"With a face that no one remembers? Or a face that people believe _died_? People would ask questions, Miss Reika, you know that. Which is why we're giving him a brand new body. One you are _very_ familiar with."

Her eyes widened, horror streaking across her face. "You can't."

"We can and we will. Oh, but don't be so upset. I'm sure Noah will be a better boyfriend to you than Seto Kaiba ever was."

"No…" she said firmly. "No!"

"This is the way it's going to be, Reika. And you, my dear girl… will be lost in your own memories until the time is right."

With a laugh cold enough to make her skin crawl, Leichter disappeared.

The background morphed to the home she shared with her parents before their disappearance.

"Reika, sweetheart! Can we talk to you for a moment?"

"Mom…" she whispered, gasping as her eight-year-old self was ripped out of her, dropped into the memory as her parents appeared in the doorway.

Her mother, only a hair taller than her, glasses perched on her nose and a kind smile. Looking at her mother now, Reika could see just how alike they really looked. The same nose, the same face shape, and Reika had inherited the upturned eyes her mother had instead of the normal Mutou-wide eyes. Miaka's dark-red hair hung gracefully over her shoulders.

On the other hand, there was her father, who had inherited seemingly all of the height the Mutou male side would ever have, standing a few inches taller than her mother. His longer, tri-colored hair was showing the early signs of fading, but his smile was the Mutou smile she had.

"Reika, your father and I are going on a trip," her mother said with a smile and taking a seat on her bed. "We're going to be gone for two weeks, and you'll be staying with Grandpa Solomon, okay?"

"Okay!" her eight-year-old memory said with a giggle. "Yugi and I can play with Grandpa's games!"

"That's right, my little butterfly!" Genji replied, sweeping Reika up into his arms. "And I heard that Grandpa just got some new games in too. You'll have a great time."

"Where are you going?" little Reika asked.

"We're going to Florida. It's for a conference for Mr. Kaiba," Miaka said. "We'll bring you back something really special. I promise."

Little Reika nodded and smiled. "Okay. I'll miss you."

Miaka smiled back and pressed her lips to little Reika's forehead, a touch that the current Reika was shocked to feel.

Her hand went to her forehead as the memory faded, still feeling the warmth of her mother's kiss as the Game Shop appeared.

Again, her eight year old self appeared, with a six year old Yugi. They were in the living room, cards and game pieces scattered throughout.

Solomon entered the room, pale, and flanked by Aunt Kumi and Uncle Takeo, who had equally pale faces.

"Kids, there's something you need to know…" Solomon started, Reika and Yugi sitting at his sides. "Reika, I'm sorry but… something happened when your parents were in Florida. They – they've gone missing."

Even ten years later, the words were a gut punch, and there was an identical cry from the past and the present as tears stung Reika's eyes.

"Are you happy, Leichter?!" she cried into the nothingness, a ghost in her own memories. "Is this what you wanted?" A sob wracked her body as she slid to the ground as the vision changed again, this time to Kaiba Manor's music room.

"My father is adopting two new children," Noah sneered. "One is our age. He plans to use him to challenge me. _Me_! Can you believe that?"

"It doesn't sound fair at all, Noah," her twelve year old self replied with a frown, shuffling the piano music on the stand. "What are you going to do?"

Noah frowned as he turned away from her and looked out the window. "There's nothing I can do. I'll just have to deal with it. I suppose it will make father look better, won't it? The media will have no choice but to see that he does have a heart."

Preteen Reika nodded. "I guess…"

"You don't sound convinced."

A sigh escaped her. "You're my best friend Noah but… Kaiba Corp deals with weapons. Wars. They've probably hurt a lot of people."

"That doesn't mean you think badly of me, right?"

"Of course I don't. You can't help what family you're born into."

"And those boys… they won't take my place?"

"Never."

Reika exhaled heavily and ran her fingers through the wig's strands. Well, she couldn't say she didn't fail on that promise.

The music room fell away, replaced by Gozaburo Kaiba's office.

"Mr. Kaiba? Mr. Leichter said you wanted to speak with me?" Preteen Reika asked as she opened the door.

"Sit down, Reika. There's something I need to discuss with you." When Reika was seated, he continued. "Noah was in a car accident this morning."

Reika watched her preteen form freeze in the chair. She remembered exactly what she was thinking during this conversation.

 _I don't want to lose Noah too. Not after Mom and Dad…_

"He's gone, Reika."

"No he's not, you son of a bitch," she whispered as her preteen self broke down in tears. "If only we would have known the truth."

Gozaburo sighed. "I know. I'm devastated too. My wife is beside herself. I know how close the two of you were, so I will allow you to become friends with Seto and Mokuba."

"Who?" her younger self asked with a sniff.

"Did Noah not tell you? The boys I'm adopting."

"Oh. He – he told me, but he didn't tell me their names."

"Mm. Well in any case. You will still be allowed at the manor. But I want to make one thing clear. You will not, under any circumstance, tell them about Noah, do you understand me? One peep about him and you'll be cut off from Kaiba Corp."

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba…" she'd replied as the room dissolved again.

On and on it continued, painful memory after painful memory, until finally, she was teleported to the Alabasta Kingdom and the battle that gave her the scar.

Already weakened from her earlier battle, she was really only providing backup for Usopp as he checked for any snipers as their captain fought against Crocodile.

"You okay? You can go rest if you want," Usopp had asked.

"I'm fine. Nothing I can't handle," she'd replied with a cocky grin.

Usopp grinned back at her. "Good. I'm counting on you to have my back."

"And you know I will. Now keep firing. We have to keep Luffy safe."

Everything else happened so quickly. A shadow had loomed over them. She had noticed it, Usopp hadn't. Crocodile had landed, eyes set on Usopp, but Reika was quicker.

"Usopp, get down!" she shouted, shoving the sniper out of the way inches before Crocodile's hook slashed across her back.

Watching yourself get stabbed is a weird thing. May only had seconds to decide what she'd do differently before Crocodile's hook made contact with her skin, a feeling that the present May felt as well, and the world around her became muted, the only thing she heard were identical screams that had come from the past and the present. Her knees became weak, and she felt herself beginning to fall to the ground before she felt an arm wrap around her to catch her.

Wait. An arm…? There hadn't been anyone here but her.

Weakly, Reika raised her head, and met the identical violet eyes of her cousin, wide in concern and horror.

As the world faded back to the Domino default, all she could think of to do was to let out a curse of "shit."


	13. Chapter 13

"… Oh shit," she said quietly as she shoved herself up and out of Yugi's arms, hunching over in pain and looking in horror at his friends as they hovered nearby. "Oh no, no, no…"

"Reika, what was that? Where were we? Why do you have a wig?"

The wig, which had slipped from her grasp at on onset of pain from Crocodile's attack, was snatched back into her hands. Her carefully constructed world was falling apart and her mind was racing trying to think of a reasonable answer. "I – I… Yugi it's…"

But there was nothing she could say that would convince him otherwise. She knew it.

So, she sighed, running a hand along the wig's dark brown strands. "You saw the truth, Yugi. The truth of where I've been for the past year."

Yugi stared at her, dumbfounded. "What are you talking about? What sort of school did you go to?!"

"I didn't go to school, Yugi," she admitted, stumbling in pain again as she tried to walk to a nearby truck. It would be faster to get to Kaiba Manor in a truck than walking. "I was working instead."

"Working? What the hell were you working on?"

She whirled around to face Yugi, her cloak fluttering behind her. "Finding my parents, okay?" she snapped, Yugi's eyes growing wide. " I got an opportunity when I was sixteen to try to find my parents and I took it, and it is very complicated so if you want to find out more I suggest you get in this truck and I'll tell you about it before it's too late to save my boyfriend from certain death!"

Yugi seemed a little stunned, but everyone ended up in the truck, with Reika speeding out of downtown Domino and into the neighborhoods beyond.

"Reika, what is going on? How are you even here?" Yugi asked after a moment of silence.

She sighed. "I got here thanks to a friend of mine. Have you guys heard the theory of the multiverse?"

Serenity raised her hand, looking up. "I do. It's the theory that there are multiple universes much like our own, right?"

"Yes. And it's true."

"So that place – with the guy with the hook for a hand – "

Reika gripped the steering wheel. "Is part of another world, yeah. It's a world with pirates and fruit that can transform your entire being. There's a man made out of sand, of smoke, of rubber. We're still investigating why exactly the worlds are connected, but…" she shrugged a little. "The organization I work for is researching the connections between our worlds. I'm a field agent. I was undercover there for the last year."

"You realize how insane this sounds, right?" Joey asked from the back seat.

"You're free to not believe me if you want, but it's up to you to figure out a plausible reason why I was wearing a wig with a bow in my hand and a quiver of arrows on my back, and why I have that same wig right now while I'm wearing a dark blue cloak that can conceal all of my features," she replied, staring at him through the mirror. "Oh, and why a man made out of sand exists."

The blonde went quiet, and Yugi spoke up again.

"Reika, you're searching for your parents? But I thought – "

She laughed bitterly. "They lied. They lied to us, Yugi. My parents are spies too. They work for the same organization I do now. They were never going to bring us Mickey Mouse ears from Disney. The worst part is… Kaiba Corporation had been selling weapons to the tyrannical government in the other world before Seto took it over and turned it into a gaming company."

"Does Kaiba know?"

She shook her head. "I don't think so. He never mentioned anything before…"

"Could he be lying?"

"I… don't know. I'm not sure about anything anymore Yugi," she said with a sigh, before frowning. They should have seen the turn to the manor's drive by now. "Something's wrong."

"You're right. I think we passed that tree three times now," Mai said.

"Dammit! They're onto me," she hissed, bringing the truck to a halt and jumping out. "Leichter! Show your face you coward!"

"No need to shout, Miss Reika. I'm right here," came the drawl and sound of expensive shoes against the pavement.

Turning around, her boots ground against the pavement, facing the man who, at one point, had been like a father to her.

"Let me see Noah."

He smirked at her, the face a unrecognizable from her childhood. "I already told you, you can't. He's busy working on something else and you can see him when that is over with. It isn't my fault your cousin and his friends broke you out of your memories before it was time."

She felt sick at the thought of this being totally planned out. "So that's why you kept us in a loop on the road then. What do you want, Leichter?"

"A duel, between you and I. And your dear cousin can't help you. It wouldn't be fair, after all since he's the reigning King of Games."

Her eyebrow quirked. "A duel. That's it?"

"A friendly duel between two people who have been through so much together. What do you say, Miss Reika?"

She exhaled sharply through her nose. "Fine."

"Good. But as I said…" Leichter's hand waved, a small dome appearing over the two of them and blocking Yugi and the others from getting closer, "your cousin will not be helping you with this."

Reika locked eyes with Yugi, somewhat surprised to see the terror on his face given how angry he'd been at her, but she masked her surprise with a confident smile and a thumbs up to him to tell him she'd be okay as a duel disk appeared on her arm, and as she turned back around, cards appeared before her, scrolling in front of her face, and she chose her deck from home.

She stood across from him, turning on the duel disk and smirking.

"Let's duel."

From the start, it was obvious she hadn't dueled in a while, and Leichter got a few easy hits off on her, taking her life points down to 3250 in only a couple of turns, and she found herself flat on her back at the impact of the attack.

"What's the matter, Reika? Have you been gone from your home for so long that you've forgotten how to duel?" Leichter taunted with a smirk. "Oh, I forgot, dueling was more your cousin's thing, wasn't it?"

Reika's eyes narrowed as she pushed herself to her feet, but didn't dignify him with a response. She needed to focus. What was it that Grandpa and Yugi always told her about when it came to dueling? Concentrate. Focus. Monsters, Traps. Magic.

 _"It isn't about winning or losing, Reika. Not necessarily. But if you have something to fight for, you must never forget about it. Concentration is the most important thing in a duel. Concentrate… and believe in your cards and your heart."_

"I'm not done, Leichter. Everyone has a shaky first few steps," she said with a glare as she drew a card and smiled. Her favorite card. She couldn't use it yet but… yes! She glanced at the other cards in her hand, and then at the cards she already had on the field, and smiled.

It was hard, but little by little Reika found herself wearing Leichter's life points down, and the smirk on his face dropped into horror, then anger.

"You can't beat me! You're not a duelist!"

"Neither are you," she said, before looking up at the dragons floating at her side. "Now, Tyrant Dragon, attack Leichter directly and take the rest of his life points!"

One tyrant being defeated by another. It seemed almost poetic.

"You're right, Leichter. I'm not a duelist," she said as the dust settled and the holograms disappeared. "Yugi is the King of Games, and deservedly so. He could probably kick my ass in a duel. But you forgot one important thing. When he was learning how duel… I was learning right alongside him."

Leichter glared up at her, his brow glistening with sweat. "It's too late Miss Reika. You aren't going to find Seto Kaiba alive. Master Noah's already put his plan into motion."

"You lied to me about Noah being dead. Why the hell should I believe you now? Now let. Us. Pass."

He glared, snapping his fingers, and the road fell away, leaving Kaiba Manor in front of them. "I'd wish you luck, Miss Reika, but as you refuse to accept, it's too late." And with that, Leichter disappeared.

"Reika, that was awesome! You're a natural at dueling just like Yugi!" Joey said as the group rushed to her side. "But, uh – that seemed sorta personal."

She frowned, looking at him. "You didn't hear any of that?"

"No, you were in some sort of bubble, or something," Yugi explained with a small frown. "We couldn't hear a thing. You were totally alone."

She began walking toward the manor, hearing the others follow. "It didn't feel that way. It was like… I could feel you cheering me on. I understand why you find dueling so exciting, Yugi. I just wish it didn't have to be so life-and-death with us. But Joey… as you were saying, you're right. That duel was personal. Very personal. Leichter was my mother's boss at Kaiba Corp, and he lied to me about something very important."

"What was that?"

She took a deep breath, approaching the large staircase to the front door. "He lied to me about my best friend being dead. He is in fact, not dead, and wound up apparently losing his mind and kidnapping a bunch of people I care about. And worse, wants to kill my boyfriend."

"Noah? Noah is your best friend?!"

"He was until Gozaburo told me he was dead and I believed it for six years of my life," she said. "And Leichter told me I was too late to save Seto. That Noah had already… I need to stop him."

"We will," Yugi suddenly said. "You shouldn't have to do this alone."

Reika's breath hitched. "Yugi… thank you. If we're too late… Noah will take Seto's body."

"What the hell?! That's messed up!"

She pushed the door open, and shivered at the emptiness inside. Cobwebs and dust coated the walls and furniture in the room.

And then, music began playing. A sad piano and violin duet, and the notes had her skin crawling.

"This is so creepy…" Téa whispered as they walked through the house, the music growing louder as they approached the music room, a ghostly voice joining in with the music.

 _"Dancing bears, painted wings…"_

"Hey, I know this song! It's from _Anastasia_!" Serenity said with wide eyes.

"It was our favorite. Noah and I used to play it all the time when we had lessons…" Reika replied, rubbing at her arm nervously. Her fingers flexed, muscle memory gliding over invisible keys before she pulled the door to the room open.

"Lessons?"

"He was violin, I was piano," she replied, forcing herself not to think about the ghostly music filling her head as she opened the door and looked around. The room, unlike the rest of the house, was immaculate, left as if it had only been yesterday since the last time she'd been in here. "Nothing. We should check – "

 _"Oh Reika, you've gotten so much better at the piano! You and Noah were just wonderful!"_ Miaka's vice suddenly rang out.

Reika's hands shook as her parents materialized in the room, hovering near the piano as they looked at a younger version of herself, pride on their faces as younger Reika continued to play.

Yugi's breath seemed to hitch. "Uncle Genji… Aunt Miaka…"

She grabbed the door, slamming it closed with a heavy breath as tears stung her eyes.

"Reika – "

She didn't look at him, instead making her way to the grand staircase. "I don't have time for Leichter's mind games right now. Noah's not here. Let's check upstairs."

The others followed, unusually quiet.

"SETO!" Mokuba's voice suddenly cried into the silence.

 ** _THUD!_**

Sprinting up the rest of the stairs, she rushed in the direction of the cry, her hand brushing against the gun on her side and pushing the door open.

Seto and Noah stood, staring each other down as what must have been one of Noah's memories played in the background. It was clear there had been a duel going on, both covered in grime and streaked with sweat.

An imagine of Gozaburo stood with high-ranking Marine Admirals, doing a weapons demonstration. Reika felt her stomach lurch at the scene, and she slowly stepped forward.

"What sort of trick is this?" Seto snarled, pulling Mokuba tighter against his side, blue eyes narrowed in disbelief.

"It's no trick, Seto. These images are very real. And now… I'm going to show you just what this world can really do!"

Noah's hand suddenly lit up in flames, and Reika's eyes widened before she rushed into the fray, grabbing Seto and Mokuba out of the way as the fire licked at the back of her cloak, making her wince in surprise.

Seto's eyes were wide in surprise. "Reika – but how? How did you get here?"

"I'm sorry…" she whispered. "I'm so, so sorry. He's the one I told you about. The one from my nightmare. There's so much I've been hiding from you."

"HEY! Who are you and how dare you interrupt me?!"

Reika pulled away from Seto and Mokuba, slowly turning to face Noah, slowly drawing her weapon, though not raising it.

"T.A.I.D.R. Don't move, Noah."

The rage on Noah's face was replaced with shock as he took in her form, slow realization forming. "Wh… what? You can't be…"

"I am. It's me, Noah. It's Reika."

"Reika…" his voice turned childish again, and in his eyes she saw the young boy she'd once been best friends with. "Y-you… you grew up…"

She nodded, her gaze sad as she slowly put her weapon away, her hand still raised in a protective stance. "I did… and you – you're here. You're alive…"

He frowned. "Alive? No, I'm not alive… that's why I need another body! So I can go back to the real world and claim what is mine!"

"He lied to you, Noah. He lied to me too. He told me you died in that accident. You don't have to claim anyone's body. You can go back to being you, and we can go back to Domino and figure all of this out."

Noah didn't seem fully convinced, continuing to look at her with a skeptical gaze. "You said T.A.I.D.R. Why do you know what that is?"

"Because I'm an agent. I've been there. I've fought the Marines. Fought against your father's weapons. Course, I didn't know it was your father's weapons until today when Leichter let it slip."

"Leichter? Weapons?" Seto suddenly asked. "You can't possibly mean – "

Noah smirked, the look making Reika's blood run cold. "That's right, Seto. I am the one true heir to Kaiba Corp because I am Gozaburo's biological son! And since you apparently know Reika… I also had her first!"

Reika's jaw tightened as she turned to look back at Seto, who was staring back at her in shock and betrayal.

"You never told me about him," Seto hissed dangerously.

"If I had, I never would have been able to meet you. Gozaburo threatened to cut me off from Kaiba Corp and the people that I knew. I was twelve and had only just been told my best friend was dead. How could I turn down the opportunity to have new friends?" she replied.

Noah's gaze hardened. "So they replaced me."

"It wasn't my choice, but I don't regret it. But we can fix that, Noah. You can come back with us and we can be friends again. It just isn't the same without my duet partner. What do you say?" she said gently, with a genuine smile on her face, holding her hand out encouragingly. "I promise, I'll help you."

"Why should I trust you?"

"If you couldn't trust me, I never would have told you that I'm a T.A.I.D.R. agent. I have been honest about everything I've kept secret for the last six years."

Mokuba suddenly stepped forward. "You must be scared. I understand. I was scared too, when Seto and I got adopted by Gozaburo. He was mean, he was horrible to Seto. But we have a chance to be brothers, without him. What do you say? Brothers?"

There was conflict on Noah's face, the boy looking between she and Mokuba.

"You don't have to be alone anymore Noah. We can all get out of here together," Mokuba said.

Another agonizing pause, but Noah relented, taking her hand and sinking into her embrace as Mokuba went back to Seto's side.

"I've got you Noah… I've got you…" she whispered, looking at Yugi as he and the others made their way over to her.

"So… can you get us out of here, Noah?" Serenity asked quietly.

Noah pulled away from Reika's embrace and looked at Serenity, opening his mouth to speak before a rumble startled the group.

The sky suddenly darkened, a menacing purple haze covering the bright blue, and Gozaburo Kaiba's laughter began to fill the air, before his face appeared from the clouds, a hologram staring at them with an evil smirk on his face.

Reika reacted immediately, drawing her gun and aiming it directly at the sky.

"Do you really think that can hurt me, little girl?" Gozaburo sneered, unfazed as he turned to Noah. "And you! You've failed me, yet again Noah. I'm taking over now."

Noah flinched. "But father - !"

"You always were a slacker. A spoiled slacker, Noah! I knew I couldn't count on you to take over Kaiba Corp after your accident. Especially dealing with the Marines."

"Gozaburo! How the hell did you survive?!"

Gozaburo's eyes turned to Seto, another smirk crossing his features. "I thought you knew better than by now, Seto. I'm always one step ahead of the competition… and you and I have some unfinished business. I will digitize the entire world, and then I shall be the one to rule! And you, boy, will be nothing more than a servant."

"Never. Whatever you plan, I am going to win, and we're going to get out of this godforsaken virtual world!"

Gozaburo laughed, slowly disappearing from view. "You say this as if you have a choice, Seto! You are never getting out of here, I'll make damn sure of that!"

And with that, Gozaburo was gone… but so was Seto.


End file.
